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starstruckmiraclekitty · 1 year

Note

omg i loved innate desire to protect! are you going to do a pt 2? if so please let the reader make it out alive😭😭

Yes!! I did this one part angst and part fluff lol, best of both worlds!!!

Thanks for reading😊💚

Part 1:

Warnings: angst, mentions of violence, swearing

Innate Desire to Protect Part 2

"She’s suffered some major internal bleeding, and it may take some time for her to wake up from these injuries. I really can’t put a time stamp on it, gentleman, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you Doctor, we appreciate all that you are doing for them.” Price said, patting Ghost on the back.

Each of 141 was continuously in your hospital room, they took turns taking watch on you, none of them really wanting you to wake up alone.

Ghost could only stare at the doctor, he was hoping she would've given a different answer. He wanted you to be awake, he wanted to scold you for doing something so impossibly stupid, jeopardizing your life for his.

“Alright gents, why don’t 3 of us head on over to Patricks and grab a drink and a bite, we’ll have someone swap out in a bit.” Gaz suggested. They were all tired, and frankly could use a drink after the long days that followed the mission, and the near death scare you gave them.

“God I’d go for a whiskey.” Price muttered, standing up and heading to the door.

“L.T. why don't you head over to the bar with the guys. I’ll be here to watch her.” Soap said, silently hoping Simon would finally take the chance to decompress. He knew you’d be okay, but Simon hadn’t allowed himself to unwind the tension that had built inside him since you got shot.

Simon studied Soap for a moment, considering his words. Perhaps a bourbon was just what he needed to relax. He trusted Johnny to stay here and look after you.

“Thanks, Johnny.” He said, making his way out of the room with Price and Gaz, not before sparing you a concerned glance.

“Go, L.T. I’ve got her.” Soap said, noticing his lieutenants hesitance to leave.

Simon only nodded, the final push from Soap being what he needed to head out the door.

“Stubborn bastard.” Soap chuckled under his breath. He relaxed in his chair, finally taking the time to rest, his gaze thoughtfully landing on you.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was about two hours later, when you awoke to the sounds of muffled laughter and a voice saying, “Steaming Jesus, that’s too funny.”

Your eyelids fluttered open, and you slowly took in your surroundings. You noticed that Soap was sitting in the armchair next to your hospital bed, watching what seemed to be a children’s tv show, on your hospital tv.

“Truly a kid at heart, aren’t you Johnny.” You said softly, giggling to yourself at the sight.

Soap immediately jerked his head to look at you upon hearing your voice. “Kid, you're awake!” He exclaimed, moving the chair to face you. “Good to see you in one piece.”

“Doesn’t feel like I am in one piece, and you're one to call kid.” You joked back.

Soap laughed at this, softly putting his hand on yours. “Gave us quite the fright kid, Ghost’s mask was cracking, and fast.” You knew which mask he meant. He meant that Simon was appearing from underneath the mask that was Ghost. There was a fine distinction between Simon, and Ghost. Anytime he was on the field, or preparing for a mission, he was Ghost. When he was off duty, or in the safety of his or your room, he was Simon. Very few people were lucky enough to ever see this side of him. You and the boys of 141 were really the only people who got to see him for who he really was.

At the mention of his name, you looked around expecting to see your lover sitting somewhere in the room. To say you were disappointed when you didn’t see him, was an understatement.

Soap took notice of this, and immediately went to ease your worries. “Ah, that lover boy of yours went out with the boys to Patricks. I nearly had to kick him in the ass just to get him out.”

“Sounds like him.” you smiled to yourself.

“Yeah, stubborn- “ Soap started, just as Ghost came in to relieve him.

“You’re awake.” He said coolly, eyeing you.

“That’s my cue.” Soap said awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to be as far away from this conversation as possible.

As Soap left, you could feel the atmosphere in the room change significantly. You knew Simon was mad at you for what you did, you just didn’t realize the extent of it.

“It’s good to see you, love.” You said, trying to ease some of the tension.

“It’s good to see you? That is all you have to say to me?!” Simon roared, gripping the foot of the bed. You could see his knuckles turning white, from how hard he was gripping.

“Simon, I don’t know what you want me to say.” You countered.

“How about, Lieutenant, I am sorry I acted a fool, without thought, and charged headfirst into a fight without a plan. How about the fact that you’re reckless, and you could have died. Huh? How about any of those Y/N.” He was full on yelling at this point, not caring who heard him.

You could feel tears pooling in the corner of your eyes. You’d never heard him speak to you like this before. You knew he’d be upset that you tried sacrificing yourself to save him, but you thought that he may be a tad bit grateful at least.

“I- I’m so-” you started.

“No, I don’t want to hear whatever excuse you have. It was my fight, if it was my time to go then so be it. I cannot have people who are careless and have no regard for common sense on my team. Maybe it’s best I talk to Price about having you transferred. I knew us working together would be a problem, I just knew it.”

“You.. want me off the team?” You choked out, the tears now fully coming down. You aggressively wiped them away, not wanting him to see you cry.

“I honestly don’t know what I want anymore Y/N.” He said, his voice now low. Shaking his head, he stood up, and stormed out of the room without sparing you a second glance.

The minute he left the room, you let yourself sob uncontrollably. You have never been spoken to like that from him before, and it left your heart in shatters. The words he had spoken to you just now, had your mind spinning. What did he mean he didn’t know what he wanted anymore? Did he not want you anymore?

You hadn’t noticed Soap sneak back into the room, and take a seat next to you in the arm chair. “Love.. are you okay?” He asked, putting his hand on your leg.

“No, I’m not. I don’t even know how to feel right now. I saved his life, I’m not dead.. I would’ve thought, I don’t know? I wasn’t expecting whatever the hell that was.” You sobbed, throwing yourself into Soap’s embrace.

“I know, I heard it all. Figured it best I didn’t head out, in case he pulled something like this.” He replied, rubbing your back to comfort you.

“I think he wants to end things with me.. I don’t know what else he could have meant.” You said wiping the abundance of tears streaming down your face.

“I wouldn’t say that love. It’s Ghost saying that, not Simon, I’m sure of it. I know how he reacted isn’t right, but he watched the love of his life nearly get killed trying to save him. I can’t imagine what I would be feeling if I were him.”

“I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t what is best for us.”

“I am not going to push you into thinking one way or another, but I know that man loves you more than anything. Just give him time, yeah? For now, why don’t you just lay back down and rest. I’ll stay here til morning with you.” Soap said as he helped you lie back down in the bed.

“Thank you, Johnny. For everything.” You replied, shutting your eyes.

“Always, Y/N”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four days had passed since you woke up. You were discharged two days ago, and your days were filled with paperwork, and mundane office work. Price had strictly ordered you to desk duty for 2 weeks, until the doctors cleared you for field work again.

You hadn’t seen Simon since the night he lashed out at you. You’d caught glimpses of him in the hallways, but he never met your eyes. The more days that went on without the two of you speaking, the less optimistic you were about your relationship with him.

You were lost in thought when Price had approached the desk you were temporarily occupying. “Hey Y/N, why don’t you take a break. Go get a coffee or something. You’ve been sitting there like a zombie for hours.”

You looked up from the paperwork you were trying to fill out, and gave him a small smile. “Thanks John, I don’t know if coffee will solve the problem I am having.”

“Ahh, well. Never know til ya try, right?” He said, throwing you a wink.

“Suppose you’re right. Thanks.” You offered, watching Price walk out of the office.

Sighing, you stood up from the desk and started to make your way to the break room. You stopped abruptly when you saw a figure standing by the coffee machine. Ghost.

“I was just stopping to get a cup, I’ll be on my way in a moment.” You said, suddenly feeling very small.

He just looked at you, no ounce of emotion showing behind his skull balaclava. You wanted nothing more than to make your cup of coffee and get out of there. The tension between you two was too thick to bear.

In the few minutes it took to make the coffee, neither of you spoke. The silence was uncomfortable to say the least. The minute the coffee was done, you quickly grabbed the cup, and made a B-Line for the door.

“Y/N” Simon’s voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Sir.” You replied.

“Simon.” He corrected you.

You sighed deeply at this, not knowing what to expect next from him. Frankly, you never knew what to expect with him.

“Simon.” You repeated.

“I- I uh. Bloody hell I suck at this.” He started, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Y/N, I am sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” You countered, putting the arm not holding your coffee crossed against your chest. Simon recognized this immediately for what it was, it was a defense mechanism. You were subconsciously trying to protect yourself, to shell in your heart.

His eyes softened greatly at this, and he moved slowly toward you. You didn’t move away.

“I just couldn’t stop replaying those moments in my head. Watching you just rush in there without a second thought, taking that bullet meant for ME. Y/N I can’t get it out, it’s all I see. If you hadn’t made it.. I.. I.” He couldn’t finish his sentence. But you knew what he meant.

You put the coffee down on the nearest table, and went to embrace him. He immediately accepted the embrace, and squeezed you tight. You both stood there for a few moments, enjoying each other’s warmth.

“I’m sorry, Simon. I know I could’ve handled that better, but the sight of you being hurt like that just made everything go numb. I would do it again, if it meant you being alive.” You said, pulling his chin down so you could look him eye to eye. “I will always protect you. That was our oath to each other, remember? On the field we’d always have each other’s backs.”

“I should’ve been the one who protected you, and I failed.” His voice breaking. Oh, now you understood. Not only was he upset at the prospect of losing you, but he was also feeling like a failure, and that he couldn't protect you.

"Oh, Simon." You cried softly, pulling him back into an embrace.

"I'm sorry love. I promise to be better. I know 'm shit with my emotions, and it's something I've got to work on. If you'll still have me that is." His voice was laced with trepidation, as if fearing your answer would break his heart.

"I will always want you, Simon Riley." You cooed, reaching up so you could lift the balaclava slightly, to plant a firm kiss on his lips.

"Now if you ever talk to me like that again, I'll make sure you don't walk for a week Mr. Riley." You pulled away and wagged your finger at him, trying to look as menacing as possible.

"That's my girl." He chuckled, leaning back down to kiss your forehead, and you could've sworn you heard a soft "thank you" escape his lips.

—----------------------------------------------------------

Let me know if you have any other requests. I've been enjoying writing these, and hope that you enjoy reading!!🙃

#cod imagine #simon riley imagine #ghost x reader #mw2 imagine #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #ghost mw2 #konig x reader

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euno11a · 3 months

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Tattooed Hearts VI

Genre: No one to someone Tattoo artist! Jungkook X Reader

Summary: What happened to us? Why did we end up like this? It was only a one time thing. Now it’s ruined us both.

Warnings: fluff, angst, smut, mentions of hookups, insults, arguing, blood, mentions of period, insecurities

Pt I • Pt II • Pt III • Pt IV • Pt V *** “Please, god, leave me alone!” You shouted at Jungkook for what seemed to be for the hundredth time. “No, no! I want you to tell me! What did you mean when you mentioned ‘the other woman?’ What woman are you talking about? And why the hell do you care?” He yelled back, chasing after you down the sidewalk, people were definitely looking and probably judging. “Why can’t you drop it, Jungkook?! I was tired and I rambled, something you’re used to!” Yelling at him the other day when you weren’t thinking straight was definitely the wrong choice. Look at you now! You’re literally running away from him. “Because it’s not every day you hear the girl you slept with yell at you for sleeping with another woman!” You stopped, making him almost run into you. You grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside, a deathly glare on your face. “Keep your damn voice down. I don’t need the whole of Main Street knowing we slept together, which might I add was a huge mistake!” Jungkook scoffed, leaning in close, “You begged for it, night after night. Not my fault you were drunk on my dick.” He spat back, not knowing how childish both of you were being. You groaned, wanting to strangle him right then and there. “Listen, I was sleep deprived and running off of coffee. I spoke out of line, so just forget it.” You walked off, being stopped when he grabbed your waist, pulling you in close. “Knowing you, you wouldn’t mention something if it wasn’t on your mind. So would you just fucking tell me what ‘other woman’ you’re talking about?” Jungkook kept a tight grip on your waist, not letting you budge. You sighed, feeling defeated you reluctantly told him. “The woman you fuck in the tattoo parlour. The one I walked in on you fucking in the break room. That woman.” He froze, tilting his head a little “Are you serious? God, you’re jealous of Cathy, Y/N? Holy crap, get a grip! And when the hell did you walk in on us?” His grip on you loosened, allowing you to pull away from him. “None of your business. Anyways, now you know, so please leave me the hell alone!” You began walking away again. Leaving Jungkook standing dumbfounded beside some bookstore. You got a mere five feet away before you were being grabbed again, “She’s not my girlfriend.” *** It had been three days since Jungkook told you that. But why had he told you that? Did he feel obligated to do so? Did he pity you? So many questions that would never be answered. Your phone rang, an unknown number appearing on the screen. You: Hello? Unkwn : Hey, I didn’t think you’d pick up. You: I’m sorry, what? I don’t even know you. Unkwn: Y/N, come on, I’m not that unforgettable. You paused, thinking for a moment…holy fucking Christ! You: Jungkook, how the hell do you have my number? JK: I’ve got my ways, I’m magic in other ways too, you know. You: I never thought you were magic before. JK: That’s a lie and you know it, the amount of time I’ve made you cum with my magical fin- You: Okay! Jesus, what do you want? JK: I want to talk, duh. You: Lies. Bye then. JK: No! Wait! Don’t hang up…please… You: Why shouldn’t I? JK: Because I want to talk to you. You: Well I don’t want to talk to you, so goodbye. You hung up the phone, throwing it beside you. What the hell was happening now? Why did he want to talk with you all of a sudden? You looked over to the bouquet that was still sitting on your counter, noticing something you hadn’t before. Signs of purple were poking out from the corners of the bouquet, making you stand up to see them closer. Taking out your phone, you took a picture of it, grabbing your jacket and running out your door. Hopefully Ms Eloise was in shop today. *** ”That would be a betony, darling. It symbolizes surprise…why do you ask?” Ms Eloise asked, handing you your phone back. You took your phone back, swallowing a lump in your throat, “I just noticed it in the bouquet…and it’s odd, the flowers somehow remind me of something…but I can’t figure out what.”

Ms Eloise smiled, grabbing your hand, “It’s okay to think about him, sweetheart. It’s understandable that you would.” She thought you were thinking of Jungkook…no, she knew you were thinking of him. Oh my god, you were thinking of him! After chatting for a while, you walked out of the flower shop, slowly making your way down Main Street, to your favourite bar. You sat down in a small booth, sipping your rum and coke. Dazed, you didn’t notice Jungkook who’d shown up a few minutes earlier. “You know, it’s rude to hang up on people.” He said as he sat across from you in the booth. Looking you up and down, seemingly checking you out. You made eye contact with him, bitterly laughing, “It’s also rude getting someone’s number without them knowing and then calling them randomly.” Your comment made him chuckle, fidgeting with the rings on his fingers. Those fingers that had been in you once…stop it! “I wasn’t trying to be rude, I just wanted to say hi.” “You never want to ‘just say hi.’ So what do you want, Jungkook? I’d rather you just spit it out so I don’t have to play guessing games with you. Also so I can preferably drink alone.” “I want you.” The comment made you choke on your sip of rum and coke, coughing into your elbow. You looked at him bewildered, “Excuse me?!” “Come on, Y/N, you heard what I said. I want you.” He said it again! And so nonchalantly as well. “Uh, no.” “Why not?” “Because I said so.” “That’s not an answer, Y/N.”

“Yes it is.” He scoffs, leaning back in the booth, staring at you. His tongue prods at the inside of his cheek, was it just you or did the room just get extremely hot? He leaned forward, lowering his voice so only you could hear him. “Listen, I don’t know what the hell happened between us, all I know is that I can’t get you off of my damn mind. I can’t think or sleep, I can only think of you.” “…you should become a poet.” Why was that the only damn thing you said?! How stupid are you??? “Why should I even let you try to pursue me? You walk around fucking everything and anything that gets your dick wet. I can’t fucking trust you.” “I know, I know you can’t. What can I do to prove that I actually want you? That you’re not just a fuck and leave?” He sounded desperate…sincere almost. You thought for a moment, taking a sip of your drink, placing it down on the table. “If you want me…like genuinely want me, you have to beg for it.” He looked at you, dead in the eyes, nothing about him seemed in a joking manner. “I’ll beg as much as you want me to, baby. As long as I get you in return.” Taglist: @talyaaas-blog @cassies-cookies

@junecat18 @jk97bam @bluewarmsunshine

#bts #bts army #bangtan #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts jungkook #jungkook #bts smut #jeon jungkook #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader

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yunjinkisses · 4 months

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popular / mean huh yunjin x f reader⭐️

what’s ahead : angst , drinking , fluff,hate sex,choking,hair pulling,g!p yunjin , degrading

notes (all of newjeans are your friends in this , and you are a transfer student) also long ass fanfic.

my second week of school and i already want summer to be here

god i’m so tired of yunjins bitch ass being on my dick all the time

“hey guys”

i flashed everyone a quick smile as i sat down

“awh what’s wrong y/n you seem a bit down unnie”

“yeah what’s the matter y/n/n!”

“it’s just yunjin..she’s getting on my nerves”

everyone let out an “ohhh” before saying it made sense

“yeah that makes sense , i don’t know why yunjin picks on you specifically,i mean you’re really nice y/n/n”

“thanks dani unnie,i don’t know either it’s just so irritating , ands it’s genuinely getting on my last nerve”

“i’m sure things will turn around and everything will be fine”

“i hope so hanni..”

the bell rung as lunch ended and i said goodbyes and than bumped into someone as i was leaving

“ah shit- sorry-“

than i looked up to see yunjin and started sweating immediately

“can you watch where you’re going? bad enough i have to see you everyday let alone hear your annoying voice..”

“sorry.”

i said coldly

“you better be”

and as she walked away she bumped into my shoulder

she’s so pretty but so fucking annoying

time skip to the end of the day

as i got home i said hi to my parents and went to my room , images of yunjin and her voice flashed through my head

god why was i thinking of her

time skip to the next day again

as i sat in my seat i staring at the clock zoning out , i somehow ended up thinking about yunjin

mother fucker get out of my head

“isn’t that right y/l/n”

“hm? oh yeah yeah..”

“mhm.. as i was saying..”

and his voice than got lowered by my thoughts , my eyes than trailed over to yunjin staring off at her beautiful orange hair,her gorgeous face as she whispered to her friend chaewon , she glanced over at me , i quickly looked away , hyein quickly noticed me staring at yunjin and whispered to me

“psst why are you staring at yunjin?”

“oh u-uhm i-“

*rinnng*

saved by the bell

“looks like it’s time to go , have a good rest of your day guys”

the teacher spoke as we exited the classroom

danielle unnie came up to me and hyein along with haerin

“hey y/n-ah! soyeon unnie is hosting a party at her place , we should totally go!” and haerin nodded along with danielle unnie

“i don’t know dani-unnie , im not much of a-“

“pleaseee oh pretty pleaseee!! i promise they’ll be cute girls there!”

i blushed and looked away at her comment then sighed

“fine fine”

danielle unnie jumped up and down in excitement

“oh thank you!! i can’t wait to see you guys there!!”

at home

“hyein unnie what should i wear to the party? should i wear this?”

“or what about this?”

“hm i think the second one , not too dressy , not too formal , and it looks super cute on you unnie!”

i smiled at her comment

“thanks hyein-ah , now let’s go”

at the party

me hyein,danielle,and haerin all showed up together , hanni and minji were staying home together

soyeon opened up the door for us

“ahh you guys made it! i’m so happy you guys could come! and y/n unnie you look amazing! i didn’t think you would come! i know parties aren’t your thing”

i smiled and gave her a hug

“well you know , trying something different for a change !”

everyone entered , me and danielle agreed to go get something to drink

after a drink or two i spot a particular orange haired girl out of the corner of my eye

“jesus christ ..”

“what’s wron- oh god.”

me and dani both spoke out spotting yunjin talking to chaewon , she than looks at me as im drinking and gives me a nasty look

soyeon than gathers a few people ,including me,dani,haerin,yunjin,chaewon,and two others , to play 1 hour in heaven

“okay wait explain again why it’s an hour ?”

“so basically we thought it would be more fun if we you know changed the time , and if nothings happening in there we will obviously let whoever is in there out “

“i guess that makes sense..”

chaewon and soyeon were having a conversation while i was just taking sips of my 4th drink,i don’t get drunk easily thankfully

“okay first up is…”

soyeon pulled two names out of a bowl

“yunjin and..”

god no..

“y/n unnie!”

“what.”

me and yunjin both exclaimed at the exact same time

“hey i don’t think that’s a good idea, im not sure if y/n-ah is so comfortable with-“

haerin was soon interrupted by yunjin

“don’t be such a pussy , y/n can handle it “

i was just looking away not making eye contact with anyone , just drinking

“fine it’s whatever.”

me and yunjin both enter soyeons , excessively large closet , basically a guest room

insults were thrown at me for almost 10 minutes straight

“you gonna say something pussy?,or are you gonna drink your feelings away? hmmm??”

i put my drink down and sighed

tears started to form in my eyes

“i’m sick and tired of you yunjin,every since the first fucking day of school all you’ve done is pick on me , i’ve never done anything to you,all i did was compliment you,and be nice to you.cant you be nice back? do you have to be such a fucking asshole”

i started to cry harder as i curled up into a ball and turned away from yunjin embarrassed of myself

“y/n i-“

“don’t , i don’t wanna hear it.”

she than softly kissed my lips and put her hands around my neck , i widened my eyes but returned the kiss quickly,it was a nice soft slow kiss , she pulled away us both smiling

“yunjin..”

“shut up.”

she brought me to the bed and brought me in for another kiss,this one felt more heated , more passionate. i licked her lips asking to enter , she quickly obliged,our tongues explored eachothers mouths , once we pulled away there was a string of saliva connected between us ,and than i felt something beneath me

“excited aren’t we?”

“shut up”

she rolled her eyes pushing me down on the bed as we both took our clothes off , only to be left in our underwear, i could see yunjins hard member through her boxers , i would be lying if i said it didn’t turn me on..

she started to kiss down my body and suck on my breasts

“yunjin..fuck..”

“shut it , slut”

she than pushed my panties aside and inserted two fingers inside me

“yunjin..fuck!~”

“god your so tight for me,wonder how you’ll feel around my cock~”

her saying that just made me moan even louder

she started to thrust in and out of me as she kissed my neck , my hands wrapped around her neck

“y-yunjin..please..s-so c-close..”

she than pulled out but before i could speak she took her boxers off and inserted her 10 inch dick inside me , making me scream

“FUCK DADDY!”

“what did you just call me?”

“n-nothing i-“

“say it again or else i won’t fuck you.”

“daddy..”

“mhm..keep calling me that princess”

she thrusted in and out of me slowly

“god you’re so wet and tight , all for me baby?”

“m-mhm! all for you!”

“what a fucking slut”

she than put her hand around my throat and tightened her grip on my neck making me moan

“m-mphm! harder!”

“don’t fucking tell me what to do bitch.”

she went harder inside of me making me scream even more

she let go of my neck and pulled out of me , turned me onto my stomach,and inserted her dick into me again,and pulled my hair

“you like that? you like when daddy pulls your hair? fucking bitch.”

all i could do is moan

“god i hate you,i hate you and your stupid fucking face,your m-mmh!~ tight pussy”

she moaned in between sentences

“fuck i’m gonna cum soon,i’m gonna fill you up”

she pulled harder on my hair ,but turned me around so she could see my face

she started going at a faster pace , making us both moan

“g-gonna c-cum”

“m-me too,let daddy fill you up”

one final thrust and she kissed me as we both came , she came inside of me , filling me up

she pulled out and layed next to me holding me

“don’t fucking tell anyone about this,i still fucking hate you.”

i could feel her smile into my neck as she held me

“hate you too”

#Spotify #huh yunjin smut #daerin #newjeans #le sserafim smut #le sserafim #gidle #soyeon #chaewon #huh yunjin #yunjinkisses #yunjin #kpop gg #girl groups #kpop #g!p

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the-hopeless-haze · 1 year

Text

Glorious Happenings of Happenstance

Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: mild smut

Summary: You get Aaron to accompany you to a wedding. It's the only night you have together, so you might as well make the most of it. Right? (as requested by Aaron deficiency anon)

-------

You hate your brother.

You don’t, really, you just dislike him right now, dragging your whole family to Boston for a wedding a week before you were supposed to be starting your new job. It was always like that with you two, push and pull, a constant game of tug and war of who was going to outdo the other one. You got the prestigious job but he was getting married. Young - like all the army rats. Dumb. Stupid. It wouldn’t last. But whatever. The hotel is nice, and you managed to escape your future sister-in-law’s bachelorette plans to get a drink at the bar by yourself. Never mind the fact she couldn’t legally drink and neither could your brother. Stupid. Very stupid.

But your parents made it known your input was unwanted and uncalled for so you kept your mouth shut. Maybe you could just be inebriated this whole weekend. God forbid someone tries to talk him out of one of the worst mistakes of his life.

You order a mojito because you’ve been sweltering in the humidity of the Boston summer, but then… you think maybe you won’t need to be drunk on liquor as you see a tall man with jet-black hair sit down on your right, leaving a few empty seats between the two of you. He looks authoritative; like people listen when he speaks; like he could command a room without so much as whispering. He’s too old for you, but fuck it, if your parents had nothing to say about your brother getting married the second he turned eighteen, they can’t say shit about who you end up with.

But still. You’re not staying in Massachusetts, and from the looks of him, you doubt he is either. He must be here on business, still dressed in black dress slacks and a suit jacket in the heat, never mind that it’s almost 10 pm. Although, who knows? Lots of suit types around, although not necessarily in hotel bars.

He orders something strong on the rocks, sipping slowly at the amber liquid. You eye his hand on the glass... and god. It dwarfs it, making it look tiny wrapped in his long fingers.

You bite your lip and turn away, sipping cautiously at your own drink. You weren’t thinking about meeting anyone here, anyway. You sweat off most of your makeup this morning driving to the hotel and your hair was a frizzy mess, soaking up all the moisture from the air it could get. You needed a shower. You just wanted a few drinks alone before turning in for the night. Right?

You’d never had a one-night stand yourself. You didn’t know how those worked, and you thought emotional entanglements before starting as an FBI agent, however brief they were… wouldn’t exactly be a good start to your career. You didn’t want to be missing him, waiting for calls that never came.

Jesus. You need to get a grip. You haven’t said a word to this man. You don’t even know his name.

Scanning him over again, you drink in his dark hair and eyes, thick eyebrows, sharp jawline, and broad shoulders. You’re not being exactly subtle in checking him out as you start to feel the effects of the alcohol loosening you up a little.

So you shouldn’t be as surprised as you are that he catches you.

Aaron noticed you when he walked into the bar, but he deduced that you were tired and wanted to be left alone. A woman alone in a hotel bar that clearly wasn’t here on work, clad in a sundress… you were here to deal with something. Fight with a lover, family member, or friend - someone you were on vacation with. You didn’t want company. And neither did he, really. But now that your eyes met, he feels like you look so familiar, and yet he can’t quite figure out why. You give a small, shy smile and you slide down the few bar stools and tell him your name.

“I’m Aaron,” he responds, using his first instead of his last name to introduce himself. A rarity. You’ve got to be twenty years his junior. Nothing can come of this, he tells himself, trying to ignore the thin strap of your dress that was falling off your shoulder.

“You here for the wedding?” you ask, hopeful that maybe he was some long-distance relative of your brother’s fiancée, that you would somehow be able to run into him again. Celebrate the inevitable divorce.

“Wedding? No,” he answers, eyebrows raising a little in surprise.

Damn it. Couldn’t be so lucky.

“Who’s getting married?” he asks.

“My brother,” you answer.

“Shouldn’t you know who’s in the wedding party, then?” he asks, giving you a small smile, just wide enough to see the hints of dimples on his cheeks.

God. You were half in love with him already.

“I don’t know her side,” you answer, smiling back.

“They haven’t been together long?”

“Nope. Guess.”

“How long? I don’t know. Six months.”

“You think that’s short? Try four,” you say. “He’s going into the army. Straight out of high school. And no, she’s not pregnant.”

“You don’t sound like you approve,” he observes.

“Would you?”

“I don’t know. Stranger things have worked out.”

“I’ve never seen high school sweethearts stay together. And if they do… they’re usually not happy.”

“You’re barely out of high school yourself.”

“I’m 25!”

“Proving my point,” he says, smiling again. “I married my high school sweetheart.”

“I don’t see a wedding ring on your finger,” you point out.

“No. You don’t,” he sighs, taking a swig of his whiskey.

“I’m sorry,” you immediately apologize, hating yourself for your lack of filter. “I shouldn’t have—“

“It’s okay,” he cuts off your apology. “I invited the observation. We… we wanted different things.”

“Isn’t that the way shit always ends?”

Aaron nods, swallowing down the rest of his drink. “What about you? Are you against all marriages or just the shotgun ones?”

“Mostly just those, but I don’t know. I really don’t see the benefit at all,” you shrug.

“Right. So jaded in your old age,” he quips.

You giggle, shaking your head. “I’ll buy the next round?” you offer tentatively.

“I believe it’s the other way around,” he says, flagging down the bartender before you could and adding your next drink to his tab.

You try and fail to ignore the butterflies in the pit of your stomach. “There’s always tax breaks.”

“What?” you ask, caught off guard by his out-of-context statement.

“Filing as married. Tax breaks,” Aaron clarifies.

“Yeah. Health insurance, too. Or, you know, not having to live in the barracks.”

“The joys of marriage.”

You roll your eyes. “How romantic. Spare me. Please.”

“No one’s tying you down, hmm?”

“No,” you say, but you give him a lilting smile, one you hope dares him to try.

“Fair enough.”

“What brings you out here, then, if it’s not to be my plus one to this sham of a wedding?”

“Work,” he replies. “Giving a conference at a college nearby.”

“You don’t have time to come in between?”

You don’t know why you’re inviting him. You don’t want him to meet your family, not like this, anyway. You don’t want to lead him on. It’s the alcohol, maybe, loosening your lips.

“I think your parents would kill me,” Aaron says firmly.

“Right. If they don’t care what my brother does, they shouldn’t care what I do. Bringing you to the wedding would be marginally less stupid than actually getting married.”

He sighs your name, shaking his head. “I can’t in good conscience agree to that.”

“Why not?”

“I’ll never see you again after this.”

“So?” you shrug.

“I don’t intend on starting something I can’t finish,” he says lowly, and you wonder… is that flirting? Is that what he’s doing?

“Fair enough,” you concede. “A little bit too much pressure for something that’s destined to go nowhere.”

“You’re not from here, either?”

“I’m moving for my job,” you tell him.

“Which is?”

You laugh and shake your head. “If I told you I’d have to kill you.”

“Naturally,” he says, smiling against the glass as he lifts it to his mouth. “CIA?”

“You’re serious,” you say, incredulous. “You actually believe I’m joining the CIA?”

“You’ve got a talent for holding a conversation without saying anything,” he points out.

“Takes one to know one,” you shoot back, realizing all you really learned about him was his first name and that he was married and now divorced.

He shrugs. “Good quality to have if for whatever reason you need to go undercover. Also, good quality to have when you’re in possession of vital, secret information. Something to think about.”

“You want to refer me?”

“Smooth,” he grins. “Nice deflection.”

“I’m most certainly not joining the CIA, Aaron, but if that’s what you’d like to follow you around in your fantasies of me, be my guest,” you smile back.

“Fantasies?”

“Since nothing can come of this. All we’re left with, right?”

“It’s a conversation in a bar. Those end two ways. Three, actually.”

“Which are?”

“The people involved in the conversation get a room. Or they leave and never speak again. Or… provided one is a CIA agent and on a covert operation, she may in fact kill the man involved.”

Rolling your eyes, you can’t help but laugh anyway. Maybe it’s the alcohol loosening him up a bit, you don’t know, but you get the feeling he’s not often like this.

“I’m beginning to think you’re paranoid, now. What do they want you for?”

“Some light treason, probably,” he snarks.

You’re not drunk enough that the beginning of his earlier remark escapes you, though. “I take it a room isn’t in the cards for us?”

Looking at you apologetically, he whispers your name before shaking his head. “It’s not fair to either of us. Some people can live their lives like that… but I can’t. If that’s what you’re looking for, I’m sorry. I’m not the man you need tonight.”

Oh, but he is.

You hang your head, blushing. “I’m not… I don’t usually do this, either. I just figured…”

“It’s not because I don’t find you attractive,” he reassures you. “I just…can’t lead you on when I know it can’t last.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” you say, nodding. “There is a fourth way this can end, though.”

“Yeah? I’m all ears.”

“I see you tomorrow,” you grin, downing the rest of your drink. “You’ll still be around.”

And with that, you stand up, kiss his cheek, and you walk out of that bar. And you don’t look back to see his reaction no matter how much you want to.

You know he’s bad news. You know he won’t show up. You know he’s absolutely right, and an attractive man like that must have been through a series of one-night stands after his wife left or he left her and realized they just left him hollow. Didn’t fill the void she left.

He didn’t want you to add to that chapter in his life. And you can’t blame him. You’d be a toxic end to that book if there ever was one.

————-

So when you see Aaron through the windows, who lost the suit jacket, finally, hanging outside of the wedding reception, you think you’re going insane. Hallucinating. Having an out-of-body experience or something.

He was too old to be playing games. Why was he here, hanging on the outskirts like this? It’s not like he was trying to get your attention. You were having a conversation with your cousin who was praying she caught the bouquet, and when you eyed him, you told her that you need some air.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” you say, stepping out of the stuffy reception hall into the cooler night air. “Or out. Not enough balls to actually crash it?”

“I… well. I suppose I’ve been caught,” he says sheepishly, and if the lighting out here wasn’t so bad you’d swear you saw him blushing. “You look beautiful.”

Maybe you do look good, or at least better than the bar last night. You settled on a maroon one-shouldered dress that clung to your curves, paired it with black-heeled sandals and you managed to get your hands on waterproof mascara and eyeliner to beat the humidity.

“Why are you here?”

“It was the fourth option.”

“We’ve reached an impasse, though.”

“We’re down to three options, again,” Aaron nods. “I realized it was prolonging the inevitable.”

“It’s two, Aaron. Room or no room,” you say, a little tense. “There’s no inevitable. There’s just now. You showed up. You showed up now.”

He scoffs, stepping a little closer to you. “You don’t even believe that. All you think about is the future. You think your brother and his wife are destined to divorce so they shouldn’t get married. Why should we start something when we know it’s going to end? That’s what this whole week was predicated on for you. Inevitability. And trying to avoid it and get others to avoid it as well. It’s your whole anti-marriage stance. Why should anyone start what they can’t finish? Right? Why bother with any of it? Why come on to me at all? One day someone is going to leave, by choice or by circumstance.”

“You showed up,” you say again. “Don’t psychoanalyze me, Aaron. You don’t know shit about me. You said so yourself last night.”

“No. I don’t know your last name or your favorite color or what your major in college was. But I know that you’re afraid.”

“Everyone’s afraid,” you shoot back. “You showed up. Why?”

“I… I wanted to see you again. It’s different now. It’s not a conversation in a bar anymore. It’s two people outside of a wedding.”

“Why see me again? Wasn’t the point of not starting to avoid hurting? Isn’t that what we’re all afraid of? Pain? We spend our whole lives trying to outrun it. You don’t like one night stands because they hurt. Because they leave you empty. Because they make you wonder and worry about the what-ifs and the consequences.”

Aaron shakes his head. “It’s not just about that. I thought about this. About us. If we only have the night… I want to do it right. I want to spend it with you.”

“Not in me?” you quip, smirking.

He says your name in a warning tone. “Don’t.”

“Fine,” you laugh. “I take it you’ll actually crash now?”

“Yes,” he nods, looking at you intensely. “I hope you can dance.”

“Dancing’s a dangerous game,” you tease. “Could quickly lead to other things.”

“Not in a room full of your family.”

“You’re a little tapped, huh?” you ask, grinning.

“Tapped?”

“Fucked in the head.”

He shrugs. “We have one night. I want it. Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it, Aaron,” you say, and lead him back through the glass doors of the hall. “You’ll quickly find I’m just as fucked.”

“I think I already knew that,” he chuckles lowly, taking your hand in his.

What kind of man agrees to this? You’ve had boyfriends you’ve had to fight with to meet your family in the first place, and here’s this man, all set to attend a full-blown wedding with your entire extended family. Maybe you didn’t care if it was long-distance at the end of tonight. He seems like a keeper.

Your brother eyes you from where he stands at the altar. You smile and shake your head, ushering Aaron into the back row with you. You didn’t exactly feel like you needed front-row seats for this.

His future wife, Crystal, she’s pretty, with olive skin, kind brown eyes, and curly black hair, but you’re still just taken aback by how young they are, how your brother will be selling his body and soul for the military in weeks and she’s coming along for the ride. Young love. You remember your first, the neighbor next door, a little older than you. Like everyone with their first love, you swore you’d marry him one day.

But you didn’t.

And you were better off.

Vows spoken. Rings traded. You almost tear up a little, given your recent fight with your mother about this, her saying she was glad at least one of her kids was getting married, that maybe she did have the hope of grandchildren someday. And it’s not fair, not really, to put that kind of pressure on you. You were career-oriented. You were never going to be the kind of woman who easily submit, who did what a man said, who took his last name and gave up the one you used for decades. You were never going to be a woman like Crystal, even when you were younger, and would do just about anything for male validation. Something in your brain was wired to be contradictory when someone tried to box you in.

How can you speak meaningful vows with someone you barely knew? You hear your brother spout something about love and eternal happiness, in sickness and in health, and it’s so easy to promise that when all you’ve seen is their good days.

You don’t have a traumatic background. You just know people leave. And you have always tried to never let yourself be in a vulnerable position. Even here, Aaron is the one who’s got less of a leg to stand on. Sure, his being here was going to lead to some awkward conversations with your relatives, but they were your relatives. He was the one out of place.

Your aunt turns around after the ceremony ends to say something to you, but she stops short upon catching Aaron’s eyes. So it begins.

“Who’s this?” she asks.

“My hooker for the night,” you tell her, deadpan, staring at your nails like you’re uninterested, and it’s so hard not to break out into a smile when you see Aaron blushing in your peripheral, sputtering and trying to come up with an excuse as to why he is sitting next to you other than being a sex worker.

You take it he’s never been with a woman like you before.

And at first, you disliked the odds stacked against you, but now you’re realizing how much fun you can have with this. There’s no need to hide your true colors because you’re both leaving at the end of the night anyway. You can be as unhinged as you want. No reason to play it up, make it out like you’re someone you’re not just so he might ask you out again… because this is it. Lowkey. No pressure.

“Don’t worry, honey, she’s always been like that,” your aunt reassures him, patting his shoulder gently. “Although if you really are a hooker, I’ll take your business card. You’re good-looking and you’ll be a plus one? A dream.”

“I assure you, I’m not a hooker, ma’am,” Aaron denies quickly, stoically.

“That’s what they all say,” you quip back. “Remember how much I’m paying you.”

If looks could kill, you’d be bleeding from a thousand stab wounds right now. But you were having fun, more fun than you’d had with a man in a long time.

“You’re not cute,” he whispers in your ear when your aunt turns back around.

“You wouldn’t be sitting here right now if you thought that,” you retort, starting to feel a little hot under your dress at his lips so close to your skin. “Besides, you should be gloating right now. You’re so attractive that my aunt thinks women would pay you to have sex with them.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I should be jumping for joy at that,” he says sarcastically.

“Exactly,” you nod, smirking at him, taking his snark seriously. “Relax. One night, right? Even if you make a complete ass out of yourself, this is it.”

“Yeah.”

“When’s the last time you had a good time, Aaron?” you ask suddenly. “No strings attached, good time? Because fine. I don’t know your last name or your major in college or your favorite color either. But if I’m afraid, you’re miserable. You need to let loose. You came here for a reason. I can at least give you that.”

“I just don’t want—“

“Them to think you’re a hooker? Please. First of all, I’m the most frugal bitch alive. They know I didn’t actually pay you to be here or to dick me down later. No one will believe that. And again, Aaron, what the fuck do you care what they believe? They’re never going to see you again. And we’re at a sham of a wedding to top it all off. So… live a little. Have a good time. Tell me some stupid jokes. Dance with me. Have a couple of drinks. And let it go. Whatever baggage you have does not exist in this room if whatever fears I have aren’t supposed to either.”

“You make a good case,” he mutters.

“I know I do,” you grin, pressing your lips to kiss right behind the ear you were whispering in, marveling at how quickly his skin flushes red at your touch.

Both of you stop talking for a moment as the first dance starts, and the couples slowly start to head to the dance floor. “Lover” by Taylor Swift, Crystal’s choice, you guess; and you can’t help but think it’s a funny one. A love song, sure, but almost a cop-out of marriage if there ever was one. “I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover”… but not my husband. Backing away from the thought of forever commitment. I want all your summers but not your last name or your ring on my finger. Nothing to symbolize it, tie me to it.

“Can I have this dance?” Aaron asks you, and you wonder if he’s secretly a masochist. Maybe he likes to be teased and kept on edge.

You nod, though, and let him lead you out into the dance floor to join the other couples.

“Keeping enough room for Jesus?” you tease, looking down at the space between your bodies.

Scoffing, he pulls you closer by the waist, so there are millimeters of space between your bodies now, and you feel your face heat up as his hands stay on the small of your back. “Happy?”

“Happier,” you concede. “How do you know how to dance?”

“I was married before,” he reminds you. “It doesn’t seem like you know how, though.”

“Hmm?” you question, glaring at him.

“Your hands go on my shoulders. Or around my neck.”

“I knew that,” you mutter, placing your hands on his shoulders tentatively, catching his dark brown eyes with yours, shuddering at the intensity he was looking at you with. Taylor Swift continues to croon her undying love and you stare at this man, at this moment in your lifetime, fading away as you’re holding him close, swaying slowly to the music.

Love at first sight doesn’t exist. You rationalized that all away ages ago. Lust, sure. Lust is common, ordinary, every day.

But you know what lust looks like. It’s predatory looks from men across a dusky bar room or it’s wide-eyes, pupils-dilated, unbridled passion, kiss-bruised lips. But you weren’t getting any of that from the way he was looking at you.

And you know you’re going to see those eyes in your dreams, eyes you can glean pain from, eyes trying to reach the depths of your soul to see where you buried your hurt to rest too. Understand you, not the things you tell people when you make small talk like your college major or your favorite color but the things you tell people when they want to get to know you like your stance on God or presidential candidates or… marriage.

You don’t know where the hesitancy came from, all of a sudden, but it’s the intensity of his eyes and the heat radiating from his body and the lights are lower and the song is ending and you’re inching your face toward his and you’re not sure who touched their lips to whose first but his mouth is on yours now, and his eyes finally close. You watch them flutter close, long eyelashes brushing against yours as he lets himself envelop you without a word. You’ve never been kissed like this, so feather-light and without a hint of urgency, like he’s taking his time, like he’ll take the entire wedding reception to explore every square centimeter of your mouth with his own. Being you, though, you don’t have the patience for that, and you bring your hands from his shoulders to clasp around the back of his neck and you get the intensity you crave, parting his lips with your tongue, closing your eyes too, feeling his soft black hair brushing against the sides of your wrists and your bodies are pressed so close and you could get lost here, couldn’t you? - but then you feel someone tap your shoulder, and you break away from him with a squeal.

“Who is this that you’re sucking face with? I’ve never seen him before,” your mother says as you turn around.

“Ask Aunt Linda,” you laugh, trying to regain your composure. “I was enjoying myself.”

“Clearly,” she says, giving you a tight-lipped smile. “Is this some kind of protest?”

“No, his name is Aaron. Aaron, this is my mother,” you say.

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he says, reaching out his hand for her to shake, smiling with his dimples in a way you’re sure made his ex-in-laws fall in love with him.

She reciprocates, but she shakes her head at the same time. “I’d prefer to have met you before you were wearing my daughter’s lipstick.”

“We can’t always get what we want,” you grin at your mother. “I think it suits him, anyway.”

“Of course you do,” she says. “Why didn’t you mention you were bringing a date?”

You shrug. “Just kind of happened. Like. You know. The wedding.”

“Oh. So this is a protest. I apologize, Aaron, for you being a part of her juvenile scheme.”

“It’s really not a bother. She’s a pleasure to be around,” he grins.

Your mother laughs. “You two really did just meet, huh? You have no idea.”

“Not very nice, Mom. Don’t scare him away. Maybe I can make this a joint wedding.”

“Hell would freeze over before you get married, darling,” she says, squeezing your shoulder. “Well. Have a good time. But please keep your hands off each other. We’ve got both sets of your grandparents here and we don’t need to be sending anyone into cardiac arrest.”

“Right, Mom,” you say, rolling your eyes as she walks away.

“I see where you get all of it from,” Aaron chuckles softly.

“I see you’re a major kiss-ass even if you’re never going to see my mom again,” you retort, stepping closer to him again.

“No harm in being polite.”

“That wasn’t just polite. That was being a kiss-ass. And you still have lipstick all over your mouth.”

Then you feel his mouth on you again, soft, thorough, warm. “Did I get it?” he asks, still smiling at you.

“You’re ridiculous,” you giggle, then use the advantage you have to hold his face there and pepper kisses across his face, leaving red marks in the shape of you across his skin before he catches your bottom lip between his teeth, kissing your mouth again, letting you take the lead again, squeezing his eyes shut and gripping onto your shoulders like your sand slipping through his fingers.

Because you are.

“I’m going to need to clean this off before I have to meet your father,” Aaron says, laughing. “I’ll be right back.”

Aaron doesn’t exactly know what he’s doing, and he feels like he can’t recognize the man looking at him in the mirror, red lipstick smeared across his face, a seemingly permanent blush on his cheeks blending in with it. The cold water helps cool him down some, but then he thinks about you again, all smirks and quick remarks and the way you read him like a book… and he’s on fire again.

There’s no point in asking you where you’re moving. Even if it’s somewhere feasible to travel, his life and work schedule isn’t something he’d want to burden another woman with.

One night. No expectations except for a good time. That he could do, even if it was for a borderline child wedding not unlike the one he had over a decade ago.

Walking back out he sees you, eyes intense and smile lines formed at their corners as you talked to your brother, glass of champagne in your hand. “Oh, this is Aaron,” you tell him, your hand on Aaron’s back as he reaches you.

“Congratulations,” Aaron says, nodding at him.

“Thanks, man. Where the hell did you come from, though?”

“That’s my secret,” you say, grinning. “You don’t get to know.”

“Is this one going to last?”

“Doubt it,” you shrug. “Is yours?”

“Stop it,” he says, glaring at you. “I know you think I’m making a mistake. It’s already done. I don’t want to hear it anymore, okay?”

“Okay,” you say.

“At least I can keep a relationship longer than four months.”

“It hasn’t really been that much longer,” you counter.

“Well, I proposed instead of ending it.”

“Okay,” you sigh, leaning in for a side hug. “I don’t want to argue either. Go be with Crystal.”

Your brother nods, taking the hint the conversation was over, and Aaron takes the opportunity to sit down with you at one of the tables. “Is this common for you?”

“What? Taking men I don’t know to weddings? Far as I know you’re only one lucky enough,” you say tersely.

“I meant… relationships.”

“Yeah. Maybe. I try men on like I try on clothes. I’m a slut. Is that what you’re trying to get at?”

“No, not at all.”

You shake your head, sipping at the champagne and making a face at it, laughing at the acrid taste and handing it to him. “You can have that.”

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Aaron says calmly, taking the glass from you, and drinking from it slowly. “There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s good champagne.”

“It tastes like ass,” you laugh, then frown. “You didn’t offend me. Yeah. I’ve had issues with relationships. No secret there. A normal, sane girl wouldn’t have asked you to come here, no offense.”

“A normal, sane man wouldn’t have said yes,” he replies, smiling, squeezing your hand that rested on the table. “Relationship issues are normal. No one in this room or in this city or on this planet has it figured out.”

“Did anyone try to stop you from getting married?” you ask him.

“Her mother wasn’t happy,” he recalls. “My parents figured I would figure it out. We were together through most of high school.”

“But you don’t know at that age.”

“No,” he agrees. “You don’t. Either they’ll be lucky and grow together or they’ll be unlucky and grow apart. But you don’t know unless you try.”

“The odds are—"

“They know that. I knew that. I still wanted to try anyway.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Sometimes,” Aaron admits. “Sometimes I do. I gave her a lot of years, and some of them weren’t good. A lot of them weren’t good, actually, a lot of strain and arguing and worrying about who she was seeing while I was away. But… I don’t know. You live and you learn.”

“Sometimes you do know,” you say sadly.

“Sometimes you try anyway,” he responds, bringing your hand to his lips.

You blink back tears and nod. One night. You can cry later.

Thankfully, the song changes to Cotton Eyed Joe; something ridiculous and impossible to stay down in the dumps for. Aaron glares at you but concedes when you give him a pleading look and you’re able to get him out on the floor to teach him this dance. He looks insane, what you can only imagine as a normally uptight, repressed man learning choreography from you for a novelty song.

Breathless and laughing he kisses you. Again. Again. Again. You don’t care about your mother’s warning and you’re glad he doesn’t either. You get the feeling he’s not one to embrace PDA like this either, but it’s one night for his mouth to be on yours, and the impression he leaves on your parents isn’t going to matter in a couple of hours anyway.

You think you’ll get whiplash from this setlist, the way it switches from upbeat to hopelessly sentimental, but Aaron rolls with the switches, pulling you back to him, swaying you gently to ‘Fade into You’. Resting your head on his shoulder and wrapping your arms around him, you breathe him in. The woodsy scent of his cologne. The slight musk of his sweat. You feel his mouth press a long kiss against the top of your head.

And that’s how it ends, bringing you into a long hug at the trunk of your car the next morning, everything you own behind you. Both of you leaving this city. Heading home. You don’t talk about it. You don’t mention to him that you’d like to see him again. You don’t say anything.

“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” he says quietly, looking up at the sky, the clouds moving quickly overhead, threatening rain.

“Aaron, don’t,” you mutter. “We knew.”

“I know.”

Who do you get mad at for this? When it’s no one’s fault? God? Fate? The universe?

——------

Who do you thank for this? God? Fate? The Universe?

You walk into your new workplace, the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, Gideon, who you interviewed with last week leads you through the building, giving you your badge, gun, and security clearance. It must be counterfeit. No one is this lucky.

Aaron realized why you looked so familiar the second your name was mentioned. He’d seen your file, read it through thoroughly, and noticed your photograph paper-clipped to it, but he was on a plane for a case and then just as quickly he was on a plane to Boston for the conference. Gideon was the only one present for the interview. Gideon was the one to hire you. Gideon was the one to walk you through the building to his desk to introduce himself to you.

You don’t even blink. “Guess it’s a good thing you were polite to my mother, sir,” you say, holding out your hand for him to shake.

Never mind the fact he already kissed you and the entire length of his body was pressed against yours.

“You two know each other?” Gideon asks, looking between the two of you.

“You could say that,” Aaron answers, but he’s only looking at you. There must be a glitch. Maybe Boston was a dream. No. You remember it, too.

“Not the CIA. Close enough, I suppose,” you grin.

“Sure,” he says softly... because he doesn’t know what to say. When he pulled your resume and your background check again he knew to expect you to walk through these doors at 9 am. A couple of hours still wasn’t enough time to prepare. You… were blindsided though.

“What aren’t you telling me, Hotch?” Gideon asks. “Is this going to be a problem?”

“No, not at all,” he says, but he’s still only looking at you. “Can I talk with you? In my office?”

You nod, following him, closing the door behind you, and leaning against it. “Don’t you think you should introduce me to the rest of the team?”

“Why didn’t you mention this?” he asks, standing in front of his desk.

“Why didn’t you? You had a million times to mention you worked for the FBI.”

“When I said CIA…”

“I thought you were being funny. I thought you were a traveling lecturer for like, science or something. I don’t know. The FBI, Aaron?”

“I could say the same for you. Jesus,” he whispers, stepping a little closer to you.

“It’s kind of funny we were out a whole night and it never came up,” you say, grinning.

“Jesus,” he mutters again, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“So what happens now?”

“I don’t know. We work, like adults, and we move on.”

“I don’t know, Aaron. I think someone doesn’t want us to move on,” you shrug. “I can’t sit in here all day. You have to introduce me to the rest of the team before they think I am fucking you.”

He glares at you. “These comments won’t be permitted with the rest of the team present.”

“Jesus. I know when to shut my mouth, Aaron. In private, they’re permissible though, right?”

“I truly don’t know how I’m going to work with you,” he says, trying not to laugh.

“Guess you must be glad you didn’t fuck me before,” you say. “Would’ve been really awkward.”

“Agent… drop it. I do have to introduce you to them. Let’s go.”

But your back is pressed against the door and you know it’s a risk to tease your fucking boss on your first day, but you can’t help yourself because he’s not just your boss, he’s Aaron. The man who held your heels and walked you back to your hotel room, who kissed you outside the door but wouldn’t let you take him inside with you, even though you felt how much he wanted you, too.

You don’t move.

“I need you to move from the door, Agent.”

“I’m ‘Agent’ now? How clinical. We’re still in private, Aaron.”

“If this is how you’re going to play it, I will have you fired.”

“Right,” you say. “Don’t think so.”

“Try me.”

“Is that a threat, Aaron?”

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he mutters. But he’s only looking at your mouth.

“Just kiss me,” you say. “I know you want to. Probably been thinking about it all morning since you realized—"

You’re cut off by his mouth against yours. “Are you wearing lipstick?” he asks against your lips.

“No,” you answer, pulling him closer, tongue against tongue, hips against hips.

“That’s all you’re getting, Agent,” he says. “I expect you to be nothing but professional. That means no teasing, no mention of Boston, no mention that we know each other even if they ask. Noncommittal answers only.”

“Aaron, 'noncommittal' is my middle name,” you grin. “It’s you I’m more worried about. I seem especially talented at weakening that seemingly strong resolve.”

“It’s Hotch in front of the team. Go,” he nods at the door.

——————

“You did a good job with her,” Aaron says to you on the plane. “Liz. The victim.”

You smile, thanking him. “Used to work in a children’s psych hospital when I was doing my undergrad. Lots of child trauma there. Learned how to get to the root of their stories.”

“You’ll be a good addition.”

“You didn’t think so before?”

“I thought you were going to make me lose my mind,” he admits, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. Thankfully, it was an overnight flight. Everyone was asleep, save you two.

“I still might.”

Aaron nods, grinning, dimples on full display. “That you may.”

“What’s going to happen between us?”

“Nothing should.”

“I didn’t ask you what should. I asked you what is.”

“What do you want?”

You laugh. “I mean, Aaron, I’m the last girl to believe in fate, but that was a pretty big coincidence to ignore. And you keep kissing me whenever we’re alone.”

“You keep getting me alone,” he mutters, taking your hand and threading your fingers through his.

“Yeah, it’s my fault you can’t keep your hands or your mouth off me.”

“Shh,” he scolds.

“It’s true,” you say. “Anyway. You know what I want. I want you.”

“I want you, too,” he admits. “But this is a precarious situation and I’m not risking my career just for sex.”

“Aaron. We aren’t going to get any bigger signs from the universe that we need to try this. I’m open to it. We can try this. For real.”

“You believe that? It was fate?”

You laugh. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. Crazy coincidence, if nothing else.”

Aaron looks around suspiciously, kissing your mouth gently when he confirms no one is watching.

Which is nothing how he kisses you later in your new apartment, searing hot against your skin as his fingers circle your clit softly, leaving you to whimper against his mouth. You’re jet-lagged and overly full from breakfast when you landed but you’re wide awake and needy when it comes to him now.

“Aaron,” you whine. “Need you. Now.”

“You have me, honey,” he teases, leaning forward to lay you down on the bed, using the angle to fuck his fingers into you relentlessly. “Better?”

“Fuck,” you say, nodding.

“So wet for me, honey,” he coos at you. “Such a good girl.”

You know you’re embarrassingly close from his ministrations with his hands, so quick to get there from being so worked up since Boston, having to go a whole week hiding this secret, sneaking off into side rooms just to press his mouth and body against yours.

You still don’t expect it to rip through you like that until you’re left shaking and moaning his name. You don’t expect his cock to fill you even better, up to the hilt. You don’t expect him to flip you over so you’re on top, able to watch him blush and whimper from your teasing, telling him he’s fucking up into you so good.

You definitely don’t expect him to suggest round two and go down on you.

Then again. You didn’t expect the man you took to your brother‘s wedding on happenstance to be your fucking boss. That you’re fucking now. Apparently.

“How long do you think we can hide this from a room full of profilers, Aaron?”

“Shut up,” he says, laughing, kissing you, hair all mussed up, making him look deliciously freshly fucked. “You’re good at holding on and holding out.”

“You’re not.”

“Only when it comes to you, honey,” he says, pulling you into him.

“They’ll figure it out because of something you did,” you wager.

“I shouldn’t take that bet,” he says. “But I will.”

And sure enough. When you nearly got shot, and of course Aaron ran to your side, checking you for wounds, kissing the top of your head when he realized you were safe and okay…

Morgan was watching. And it spread through the team like wildfire. Naturally.

“How long?”

“Since Boston,” you answer.

“Wait…” Gideon chimes in.

“Don’t think about it too hard,” Aaron says.

------

taglist: @mrs-ssa-hotch

#aaron hotchner x reader #Aaron hotchner x you #hotchner x reader #hotch x reader #Aaron Hotchner #hotchner x you #hotch x you

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madneedshelp · 1 year

Text

Always Choose You - Eddie Roundtree x Female Reader

Summary: You and Eddie were never meant to be more than a fling. So, why did you both keep coming back?

Includes: implied sex, alcohol and drug use, adult language

Note: The bolded names followed by a colon represent interview dialogue like from in the book.

The first time you met Eddie was at some gig he played with The Six. It was before Look At Us Now had blown up and they’d flown to stardom. No, you met him back in the days of small clubs on the Strip.

The band had just finished playing, you’d had a few drinks (and therefore some liquid courage in your blood), and you went for it. As soon as the cute bassist headed to the bar himself, you sauntered over.

“You were great up there. I’ve always wanted to play music like that.” You smiled and slid into the seat next to him.

He returned your grin and took a sip of his drink. “Ah thanks, we’ve been at it for a while now. I’m Eddie, by the way.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Eddie. I’m Y/N. Have you all been in town long, I can’t say I’ve seen you play before.”

He shook his head. “We’re from Pittsburgh. Kind of took a leap of faith coming down here, but I think we’re all happy we did it.”

You noticed as he glanced quickly over at the side of the bar. The singer of his band was talking with a beautiful brunette, but you could tell he was more focused on the girl than his friend. He looked back to you after almost a split second though, and you were almost convinced you made it up.

“Well, cheers to your success, I’m glad it’s working out for you guys.” You chuckled and clinked your glass with his.

You and Eddie flirted a bit more, drank a bit more, and at the end of the night he climbed into a taxi with you. Your roommate was out for the weekend, so you had an empty apartment and a hot guy at the ready. A nice one night stand could be just what you needed.

————————

It never occurred to you that you’d see him again. Hell, you’d practically forgotten him after all that time had passed. Not that the two of you didn’t have a great night together, you were just both a little drunk and it was just once, so it never really crossed your mind.

But then here you were, at a party for your roommate’s friend. She hadn’t told you much detail about the party, just that her friend Camila was hosting a housewarming party of sorts and she wanted you to come along as her guest. It gave you an excuse to get dressed up and it sounded fun, so you agreed without much thought.

Your roommate, Sarah, introduced you to Camila and her husband Billy when you first arrived. Something seemed vaguely familiar about them, but you figured it was just because Billy’s band was famous and there was buzz about them everywhere. Still, you felt like maybe there was something else about them. As Camila and Sarah got caught up in conversation, you politely excused yourself to go grab a drink.

The house was full of people and you felt slightly like you were in a maze. Luckily, you wove your way to the bar area and were able to acquire a beer.

You decided the next stop should be the patio out back. It was getting a little stuffy and some fresh air sounded perfect. You were on your way to the back door when someone stumbled into you from behind.

“Oh shit, my bad.” The man said immediately.

You turned and gave him a small smile. “It’s all good, no worries.”

“Jesus Warren, I leave you alone for like five minutes and you’re already stumbling around aimlessly,” a familiar voice chuckled as another man strolled up beside him.

Holy fuck. As you glanced over at his friend, you realized you knew this guy. This was that bar guy from God knows how long ago.

It looked like said guy was having the same realization, or at least some kind of epiphany. His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to really look at you.

“I think I know you from somewhere.” He muttered.

Eddie: Okay, I know it sounds bad, but I promise I didn’t forget about her. It had been a long time. Besides, apparently she couldn’t even remember my name, so we were both a little drunk that night.

Warren: I was high as shit, and I could definitely tell he didn’t recognize her. It’s funny to think about that now, God I can’t even imagine.

His friend-Warren- elbowed him with a laugh. “You can’t pick up chicks with that cheesy ass line, brother. No one is gonna fall for that shit.”

You kind of wished you had some of whatever this guy was on because he was clearly high as a kite and having a grand old time.

“Oh, I don’t know.” You let out a quiet, nervous laugh. You weren’t about to explain that you two had fucked and never spoken again once like a year or so ago.

“No, we have met before…” He trailed off in thought, but then his eyebrows shot up as it clicked. “Did you hang around the Sunset Strip by any chance?”

You downed what was left of your drink and nodded. “Yeah, I used to. I think you’ve put that together, though. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab another of these.” You held up the empty bottle and spun on your heel.

Thankfully, the house had several exits, so you were able to grab your beer and slip out back unnoticed. Well, at least you thought you were.

“Hey, can I talk to you?”

Bar guy came up beside you and gestured to the empty seat beside you. You felt like shit for this, but you couldn’t remember his name. Fred, maybe? God, you didn’t sleep around that much, you should be able to keep track of this.

“Sure,” You shrugged. You do remember him being a nice guy, so you weren’t opposed to hearing him out.

He hesitantly sat down. “Listen, I feel like I should apologize. I’m sorry it took me a minute to recognize you, and…well, I’m sorry I kind of disappeared from your place right after we…” His voice started trailing off when you started chuckling. “What’s funny?”

You felt your face flush and you waved a hand. “No, no, it’s not you, I promise. You really don’t have to apologize for anything, that’s why I was laughing. We slept together after I met you at a bar, I didn’t exactly expect us to grow old together.”

He was chuckling now too. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just didn’t want you to think I was an ass or something. Can we start over?”

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.” You smiled and held out your hand for him to shake.

“Eddie, and likewise.”

Eddie! So you were kind of close earlier. Truth be told though, this was one of the weirdest encounters with a hookup that you’d ever had. Normally, you wouldn’t dream of interacting with someone afterwards, but something about this guy was different. You kind of liked talking to him, and you remember feeling like that the first time you met him too.

————————

You woke up in a room that was definitely not yours, which caused a little bolt of panic to shoot through you. It only took a second for it to all come flooding, thankfully.

Somehow, you had decided it was a good idea to go home with Eddie last night. Again. That definitely was not in your plan. You weren’t in the habit of dragging out one night stands, but it looks like you had a repeat. You two wound up hanging out for most of the party last night, and you were talking, then you were kissing, and now you were here. But God, was he a good repeat. To be honest, when you snuck a glance down at his sleeping face beside you, all you could think about was that he was kind of beautiful.

A knocking came from the door and it nearly startled you out of bed.

“Eddie! We gotta leave for the studio, man! Billy wants us there in an hour!”

You looked down and realized you were bare ass naked, and immediately lunged for your clothes. You weren’t sure if Eddie’s roommate would just barge in, but you were not about to be caught naked if he did. Immediate relief flooded through you as you pulled on your dress and heard footsteps as the guy walked away from the door, but you were mostly amazed by the fact that none of this had actually woken Eddie.

This was actually kind of worse. Now you had to make a choice. Did you leave unnoticed or did you wake him up and face the morning after conversation. You really didn’t want to talk. You hooked up once and then again, it was a weird string of events that you couldn’t hash out right now. Unfortunately, he showed no signs of waking up and you’d feel really bad if he was late to his band thing.

With a sigh you stepped over to the bed and shook his shoulder gently. Then you shook it a little less gently. This man could sleep through a fucking tornado.

Finally, he sat up and rubbed his face. “Hmm? Oh, mornin’...”

You quickly wiped off the tiny smile that threatened to overtake your face. Thinking he looked cute, all sleepy in the morning, was not a road you needed to go down. “Hey, your friend just knocked and said Billy wants you at the studio in an hour. You seemed pretty out of it, so I just wanted to let you know before I left.”

He muttered something about “he’s such an asshole” under his breath before looking back up at you. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, no problem,” You nodded as nonchalantly as possible. “Well, I’m going to head out now. Um, thanks…for last night.”

The second the words left your mouth, you knew how stupid it all sounded. You used to be pretty smooth, but apparently that was temporary. You had to get out of there before you made it worse. You grabbed your purse and strode hurriedly for the door, but before you were outside, Eddie shouted.

“Hey, wait!”

You looked back over your shoulder at him as he pulled on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and started over to you. “Yeah?”

“Listen, um, I had fun last night. And I like you.” He combed a hand through his wild hair.

He looked like he wanted to keep going, but you cut him off first. “I’m not really looking for a relationship.” You blurted the words before you could think, and they left a curiously bitter taste in your mouth.

He looked mildly surprised at the outburst, but then shook his head. “I’m not either, actually. Honestly, I’m kind of getting over someone else right now. Stop me if I’m out of line here, but I was wondering if you might want to do this again sometime. All I’m saying is I had fun, and if you had fun too, then could I get your number? I promise I’m not proposing we grow old together here.”

You chuckled at his reference to your conversation last night. You had to agree with him. Last night was good, and the thought of seeing him again was something you didn’t hate.

Y/N: I can’t believe I’m actually admitting to this, but yes he became my, oh what is it people say now? My sneaky link? Friends with benefits? Whatever, the point is we kept seeing each other. Just having fun. We were in our 20s and carefree, you know?

————————

You and Eddie kept things casual for a long time. He grew to be one of your closest friends during that time. Yes, it was mainly about the sex for the two of you, but you actually got to know each other well.

Eddie knew things about you that not even your roommate Sarah did. One night he opened up to you about Camila, about how he’d been in love with her for years and that was why he wasn’t looking for something serious. He seemed really vulnerable about it, and you decided to tell him about your cheating ex and why you didn’t want to date either. The two of you formed an odd sort of bond over that, over loving people that had chosen someone else.

Eddie: If I’m being honest, I was lying when I told her about Camila. I told her I was still in love with her, but I hadn’t been for a while. I was just too afraid to admit that maybe I moved on.

Y/N: I was done with it just being a fling at that point. Sure, I was still hurt by what happened, but I think Eddie helped heal that untrusting part of me. I felt ready for a relationship, but I didn’t know where he stood on the matter. I didn’t fess up because it almost felt better to have him in that way, than to not have him in my life anymore.

Karen: They were so obviously in love with each other, I’ll never know how they couldn’t see it in each other. The rest of us definitely could.

Graham: Y/N and Eddie? Yeah, I think the rest of us knew about them before they knew themselves. It was annoying as hell to live with them, I mean especially sharing a wall with Eddie. Warren and I took bets on how long it would take them to actually figure out their shit, and that son of a bitch beat me.

You and Eddie were lovers for almost a year.

Everything changed on a night that seemed so typical. Eddie had showed up at your place, absolutely livid.

“He cut my fucking part from the song! He’s such a fucking asshole!” Eddie slammed the door behind him and flung his coat over the back of the kitchen chair.

You put your book down and hopped up from the couch. “Again? Shit, Eddie, I hate that he keeps doing that to you.” The moment you placed a calming hand to his chest and leaned against his shoulder, you felt him relax beneath your touch.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around you. “I’m sorry I keep showing up here like this. I just get so pissed at him, and it’s like the only place I can think of to go is here.”

“Yeah?” You laughed softly.

He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah,” he said with such finality that you could feel a shift in the room.

The way he was looking at you…like you were something special. Like you were something valuable.

“And why is that, Ed? Why here?” You whispered.

In answer, he leaned down and kissed you. You too had kissed obviously, but this one felt like it meant something different. “Y/N, I’m so fucking in love with you that it’s all I can think about. Even when I’m not thinking about you, I still am. I was so mad at Billy and had to get out of there, and somehow I drove here without even thinking about it. So, yeah, I’m in love with you. I know that wasn’t in the agreement, but I can’t keep going and not tell you this once.”

You could tell he was going to keep rambling, so you decided to muster up the courage and do what you were dying to do. “Eddie!” He stopped and looked at you, visibly anxious. “Eddie, I love you too. I have for so long, and screw the agreement. I want to be with you.”

Eddie’s face lit up and he kissed you again. And again. And then he stopped to why the tears off your cheeks, which you assured him were happy tears.

“God, I should’ve told you sooner.” You chuckled and leaned your head against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head. “Warren would definitely call you a chicken right now, but I wouldn’t stoop that low.”

Even though he couldn’t see it, you rolled your eyes. “You know, I feel like you kind of did by mentioning it, but I’ll let it slide. Besides, I still thought you had feelings for Camila. I didn’t really think it would ever be me.”

Eddie pulled away slightly so he could look you in the eye. “You know I would always choose you, right? You’re it for me, baby. If you’ll have me, anyways.”

“Always, Eddie, always.”

Y/N Roundtree: We got married like six months after that.

Eddie: I would’ve married her that night, to be honest.

#eddie roundtree #eddie roundtree x reader #djats #daisy jones fanfic #daisy jones and the six #eddie roundtree fanfiction #daisy jones fanfiction #warren rojas #graham dunne #camila dunne #billy dunne #daisy jones #taylor jenkins reid

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justkindalivin · 1 year

Text

Shotgun

a/n: AHHHHH hello!! I’m Lottie and I've been so horrifically obsessed with dealer Ellie that it's not even remotely okay. I had an idea for a fic and instead of requesting it from someone else, I decided why not write it myself! I’ve never posted any fics before bc I’m lowkey ass at writing so if any dialogue is awkward or the grammar is bad I'm so sorry :( Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy it, have a great day I love you ♡ part 2

I kinda modeled the reader after me subconsciously, so the reader is a bit shy and bi (sorry to my lesbian baddies I luv yall, its only one line). Also, I just made up a random roommate named Sam, very sorry if your name happens to be Sam.

Summary: After being dragged to a party by your roommate, you escape out to the porch for some air. Not realizing it was already occupied, you end up having a lot more fun at the party than you thought you would

warnings: language, modern!au, dealer!ellie, weed, shotgunning, collage!au, things get the tiniest bit spicy (only a tad)

wc: 1.6k

-------------------

The music pounded in your ears as you pushed past all the sweaty bodies in the middle of the room. Parties had never quite been your scene, but Sam had begged you to come with her and that girl does NOT take no for an answer

This all started with Sam bursting into your shared dorm, ripping your headphones out of your ears, and standing beside your desk with her hands on her hips. “Bitch, you never come out with me! It's like all you do is sit in the dorm all day, you gotta get out there!!” She excitedly screamed, pulling you to your closet to pick out what you should wear.

You and Sam had been randomly paired as roommates but quickly got close despite how different the two of you seemed to be. Sam was always out at parties being social and seemed to know absolutely everyone on campus. You on the other hand... well were almost the exact opposite. You always joked that you were like the crotchety old man of your floor who only left for food or class, and just wants all those damn kids to quiet down while you’re trying to sleep.

“Sigma Nu is throwing tonight, you HAVE to come with me. I’ll be lost without you please please please!”

Sam was, in fact, not lost without you. She had practically ditched you the minute some frat boy asked her to play pong with him, leaving you alone and painfully sober in a sea of drunk college kids. As much as you loved Sam, she always seemed to do this whenever you come out with her. She’d beg that it wouldn't be fun without you but would leave as soon as you got there and you’d be stuck on babysitting detail for her drunk ass for the rest of the night. After about the fifth push and second drunk couple not noticing you leaned up against the wall and making out basically on top of you, you decided to leave in search of some desperately needed air. Weaving through sweaty drunk people should be a fucking Olympic sport because holy shit- you barely escaped with your life. After going through the kitchen, you finally found your way to a sliding door, quickly getting it open and stepping out into the cool night air.

“Jesus christ why did I fucking come here,” you say under your breath, leaning against the porch railing and putting your head in your hands “And I can't even leave because I have to make sure Sam’s okay- god damn it”. Scrubbing your face with your hands, you look up at the sky and get lost in your own head until the sound of someone clearing their throat startles you.

You quickly whip around, hand on your chest, to look at the other person who has also been occupying the porch without your noticing. A girl with short auburn hair and beautiful green eyes stands leaning up against the house. Her face is dotted with freckles and she’s wearing a comfy-looking flannel over a plain white tee, one hand shoved into the pocket of her jeans and the other holding a joint between two fingers. She is, without a doubt, one of the prettiest girls you’ve ever seen. You’re so entranced by her that you barely even notice when she says something to you.

“oh...uhm- what?” you oh so eloquently reply, internally debating if you should throw yourself off the porch to make your escape from this awkward ass interaction. The girl smirks as her eyes scan you up and down- if you didn’t know any better you would think she was checking you out.

“I said are you good? No offense but you kinda seem like you're freaking the fuck out” She repeats, smirk still present on her face as she brings the joint up to take a drag from it, blowing the smoke in your direction.

You blush, embarrassed that someone had been witness to your mini breakdown. “Yeah, I’m good. It's just a lot, you know? I don’t go to parties too often.” As soon as the words leave your mouth you cringe internally. Don’t go to parties a lot? You seriously couldn't think of anything cooler to say? Way to embarrass yourself in front of the hottest chick you’ve ever met. Your downward spiral continues until the girl breaks the quiet with a chuckle

“I get that, frats aren’t really my thing either but I get good business here so... here I am”. You nod your head, looking back up at the sky. “I’m Ellie, by the way. What's your name gorgeous?”. Your face feels like it's on fire, your brain practically short-circuiting trying to process that this actual goddess just called you gorgeous. You quietly tell her your name and when you look back at her, she has a wide smile stretching across her face. “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”

Holy shit this girl is going to be the death of you. You’re sure that your face is going to melt off from how hard you’ve been blushing, the ability to speak has left you altogether. You’ve had flings in the past, with both boys and girls, but no one has ever been so brazenly interested in you. You find yourself desperate to know more about her, maybe run your hands through her hair and cup her face as you lean in for a- WOAH. You’re goin wild right now, you need to cool down

“So um... what do you sell?” You ask, trying to change the topic and give yourself some time to chill out. Ellie looks at the joint in her hands, then back at you with raised eyebrows. “Right right, sorry stupid question” you huff while looking down, embarrassed yet again by your lack of rizz. Ellie lets out a full-on laugh, pushing herself off the house and making her way over to you.

“You ever smoked before, pretty girl?” she asks while leaning on the railing next to you, so close you can feel the heat radiating off of her. Looking up, you’re surprised to see that her face is so close to yours that your noses are practically touching.

“A few times, not a ton. I cough a lot though, so it's kinda embarrassing to do it with other people”. Ellie taps off the ash at the end of her joint, seemingly contemplating something before turning her attention back to you

“Well if you’re down to smoke, we can try a different way that maybe will help you cough less. That is, only if you want to”. You’re surprised by how quickly you accept her offer, asking her what she had in mind. Ellie moves from beside you to directly in front of you, planting her empty hand on your waist and bringing the joint she held in her other hand up to your face. “Okay, so it's called shotgunning. Just open your mouth after I take a hit, sound good?”. All you can do is nod, mesmerized as she brings the joint to her lips. The moon reflects off her soft skin, the end of the joint burning a deep orange as she inhales. After her hit, Ellie looks over at you and you do as she said.

Flicking away what little is left from her blunt, Ellie cups your face with her now empty hand and brings her mouth to yours. As she’s kissing you she blows the smoke into your mouth, but you can barely concentrate, too focused on the feeling of her lips on yours. After only a few seconds, Ellie pulls away but keeps her forehead pressed to yours and you blow the smoke in her face as you both giggle.

You reach up and brush away a bit of hair that had fallen to cover Ellie’s eyes, running your fingers down the side of her face until you are cupping her cheek as well. You look at each other for a beat before you both lean in, lips meeting again. Ellie caresses your cheek before her hand moves to join her other one on your waist, finding their way under your shirt and stroking the skin there. She tries to deepen the kiss, licking your bottom lip which you playfully deny. Suddenly, Ellie pulls away for a moment to lift you up onto the porch railing. Your legs fall open and Ellie steps between them, connecting her lips to your neck and kissing down the side to your collarbone. Letting out a breathy moan, you grip the hair at the base of Ellie's neck and throw your head back.

-SCHWOOP-

The noise startles you and you pull away from Ellie, much to her annoyance. Looking at the sliding glass door, you notice some obnoxious frat boy has thrown it open.

“Hey, you deal right? I need a pre-roll if you have em”. Talk about a fucking cock block. Ellie all but growls into your neck, whipping around ready to give this dude the verbal thrashing of his life when you stop her by placing your hand on her shoulder.

“It's okay, I need to find my roommate and get going anyway. But um... do you have your phone on you? Maybe I can give you my number and we can do this again sometime?”. Ellie smiles at that, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and handing it to you. Feeling bold, you give her one last kiss on the cheek before heading past the frat guy and back into the house.

You really hope she texts you.

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an: tf kinda noise does a sliding door make? Def not schwoop but thats all my brain could come up with lmao. so thats my first ever fic, my writing could use some work so i’m def open to any feedback! Stay super freaky, have great vagina, I LOVE YAAAA

#ellie williams x reader #the last of us part two #dealer!ellie #ellie williams #modern!ellie williams #ellie williams x you #ellie tlou #ellie williams x female reader

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hairstevington · 1 year

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flowers and ink (part 2)

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: Eddie and Steve like each other, but unfortunately Eddie thinks Steve is dating Robin, and they're both generally just gay disasters who don't know how to communicate

(part one found here)

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: Tattoo Artist!Eddie, Florist!Steve, fluff, gay panic, Platonic Soulmates Steve and Robin, Will is here and we love him, everybody is a sweetheart and an idiot, it's just cute and funny

A/N: Ha ha, remember when I said this would be two parts? I'm having so much fun with it that I'm making it three parts. I hope you don't mind??? Also this story is officially cross posted on Ao3 for those interested!

“Steve, did you give Eddie a 50% tip?” Robin asked as they walked out of Ink About It.

“Well, I’ve never been that great at math,” Steve mumbled, blushing.

“Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s the reason.”

“He did a great job?” Steve offered. He wasn’t even sure why he was denying the obvious. Robin knew Steve way too well to play these games.

“You like Eddie,” she stated.

“I barely know him,” Steve shrugged.

“Yeah, but his work is permanently on your skin forever,” Robin pointed out.

“Jesus, why did you have to say that?” Steve whined with a groan. “He’s hot, okay? Will you just leave it?”

He knew she wouldn’t leave it. It was kind of her specialty.

“It was just so cute seeing you be all flirty with him,” Robin said.

“God, I hope it wasn’t that obvious.”

“Don’t worry, he was too focused on his work to notice,” she assured him. “Come on, we just did something big, let’s celebrate!”

So, they did.

The next time they worked together, the teasing was relentless. Steve couldn’t escape it due to the tattoo shop being right through the glass. He couldn’t help trying to see if Eddie was in there.

“Oh my god, just go back there and talk to him,” Robin suggested.

“I can’t just go there, Robin,” Steve replied. “I’d have to, like, make another appointment or something.”

“You’re willing to get a new tattoo every time you see this guy, Dingus?” Steve chuckled.

“If I have to, sure.” Robin smacked him playfully on the arm.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Oh, and you’re any better?” Steve challenged. “Remind me again why you started working here.” Robin rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, we’re both gay disasters,” she replied. “I still think you should go over there. I’ll cover for you.”

“Wait, you mean now?” Steve asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Robin confirmed. “It’s been so slow I’m going crazy, Harrington. I need something to spice up the day, and this fits the bill.” She put her hands on his chest and pushed him backwards toward the front door. “Do it. Go.” Steve sighed.

“It’s a good thing I love you, Buckley.”

And with that, he was off to the tattoo parlor.

Bob took the morning off to take Will to brunch, leaving Eddie alone in the shop. He didn’t mind holding the fort, because he could plan breaks and moments to relax based on the appointments he had for the day. Tattoo shops were chill.

Most people generally knew not to walk into a tattoo place without notice. Appointments and communication beforehand were necessary so that the artist could design and adjust, plan their day, etc.

Steve apparently didn’t have that memo. But when he sauntered into Ink About It, Eddie didn’t care about his lack of a heads up.

He was wearing his work polo - light blue with the name of the flower shop over his heart. He looked a bit nervous, but Eddie figured that was because the man clearly did not fit into a place like this.

“Back for more already?” Eddie teased. Steve blushed, and it was cute how nervous tattooing made him. He wondered if Steve regretted getting one in the first place.

“I just have a question,” Steve said. He walked up to the counter and leaned his elbows on it, making the height difference between them drastic enough where Steve had to angle his chin up to make eye contact.

“Shoot,” Eddie permitted.

“Is the damn thing supposed to like - peel?” Steve asked.

Eddie just about lost it. He never wanted to make someone feel bad for not knowing these things, but Steve was just so goddamn cute about it. He pressed his lips together as tightly as he could so he wouldn’t give himself away, then nodded.

“Yup,” Eddie answered. “The first week or so you’ll see it flake off. Don’t pick at it or scrub it or anything.”

“Would it come off if I do?” Steve asked.

Okay. Now the guy HAD to be fucking with him. Don’t laugh don’t laugh be professional do what Bob would do.

“I - uh, well no I’m afraid tattoos are permanent, Steve,” Eddie responded. Steve looked at him dumbly for a second, then shifted back up to standing and burst out laughing.

Eddie watched, confused, until Steve spoke again.

“I’m just fucking with you Eddie. I may not know a lot about tattoos, but I know they’re permanent, okay?” Eddie seeing Steve goof around like this was charming in a way Eddie hadn’t seen yet. He’d really only known Steve with a brave face on, caring for Robin when she got scared. Eddie had already been crushing on Steve, and hearing him laugh now took the crush to new heights.

“Oh,” Eddie said, smiling back with a light chuckle. “Alright then. So yeah, if it’s flaking that’s okay, but I can look at it if you want.” Steve nodded, so Eddie gestured for them to go back to the space where Steve got the tattoo in the first place.

Steve stood there awkwardly, looking at the table he was supposed to sit on, then down at his ankle, then back up.

“How do you want me?” he asked.

Eddie really wished he didn’t say that.

“Uh, you can just sit like you did the other day and pull your pant leg up.” Steve did as told, crossing his left leg over his right so his ankle was in clear view.

Eddie knew at first glance it was healing just fine, but he lingered on his work for an extra few seconds, just to extend the moment as much as he could.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Steve asked, nervously. Eddie shook his head to get himself out of his daze.

“Everything looks good,” he confirmed. “Maybe a bit dry. Are you putting lotion on it?”

Steve nodded, then named a kind of lotion Eddie knew was shit for this sort of thing, but it would do in a pinch. Eddie caught sight of the clock and realized Bob was going to show up with Will any moment.

“I guess I should head out,” Steve said, noticing Eddie’s focus drifting to the time.

“Uh, right,” Eddie said. He really did need Steve to go, but he didn’t want him to. “Yeah, I got - the manager is coming in soon with this kid who I guess is into art. I’m supposed to show him the ropes and -” Eddie paused, realizing he was just about to spill his whole guts to Steve without even thinking about it.

“And?” Steve pressed. Shit. Eddie took a deep breath.

“I guess the kid just came out and Bob thinks he needs another gay person to talk to or something,” Eddie admitted.

“Oh,” Steve replied. Eddie couldn’t read his expression. He definitely looked a bit surprised, but most people did. Eddie couldn’t even count the amount of times someone had said something like, I had no idea. You don’t look it. Like, what the fuck does that even mean? He waited for Steve to say something similar, but instead the door opened.

“Hey, Eds, we’re back!” Bob announced from the waiting area.

“Uh, good luck,” Steve mumbled, fixing his pant leg and standing up. He turned to leave, but froze when he saw the kid. “Will?”

“Steve?!”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Eddie asked, confused.

“Uh, yeah. I kinda used to babysit him,” Steve answered. “How have you been, dude? You’re almost as tall as me now!”

Eddie and Bob watched as Will ran to Steve and hugged him, both of them smiling warmly.

“I’m good! Things are good!” Will said. He separated from Steve and looked to Eddie. “You must be the artist Bob has told me about.”

“That’s me,” Eddie replied with a wave. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Well, I gotta get back to work,” Steve said, knowing that he was no longer supposed to be there. “But you’re in good hands with Eddie. He just gave me my first tattoo and he’s pretty great.”

Eddie had no idea why Steve was complimenting him so much. He could feel himself blushing.

“You work at the place across the street?” Will asked. Steve nodded. “Yup, with Robin,” he answered.

“Oh, how’s she doing?” Will asked.

“She’s good. Same as always. Still the best person I know.”

Aww. That was sweet. But also annoying. For Eddie, anyway. Their goddamn relationship was long term and solid as ever, apparently.

Steve insisted again that he should get going, and then he was off.

“So,” Eddie said, clapping his hands together. “What do you want to see first?”

They started with a tour of the place. Eddie showed Will his tattooing space first, going over the tools and explaining how it all worked. Then, Will started asking Eddie about his own tattoos, so they went over all of those next. It took a long time, because Eddie had a lot of tattoos to explain, each of them with their own backstory. Some backstories were more involved and coherent than others. Some of them just consisted of, “oh yeah, I was kinda tipsy and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Don’t do that by the way.”

“I don’t want a tattoo, anyway,” Will had responded. Eddie nodded, but had an inkling from the way Will was so fascinated by all this that he’d change his mind someday.

After that, Eddie showed Will a bunch of designs he’d done in the past, then a few he was currently working on. Will ended up showing Eddie some of the drawings he’d done.

“Oh, shit,” Eddie said, completely blown away. “You’re really talented, man.”

“Thanks,” Will replied with a smile. “I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

“That’s awesome. So, you think you’re gonna get into tattooing?”

“I dunno, maybe,” he responded with a shrug. “I’m going to college in the fall for art, but I don’t really know what I’m gonna do with it yet.”

“That’s soooo normal,” Eddie replied. He’d heard people say as much often, so he figured he’d pass the knowledge along. “I didn’t go to college, but I found my place here. I wasn’t an artist my whole life like you, but it turned out to kind of be perfect for me.”

“Isn’t it weird to have your designs on people’s bodies forever?”

“It’s kind of awesome, actually,” Eddie said with a grin. “It was a little wild at first to work on skin, but thankfully they had me start on oranges, first.”

“Really?” Will asked, amused. “I had no idea!”

“Yeah!” Eddie responded. “You wanna try?”

“You just have an orange lying around?”

“I like citrus, what can I tell ya.”

Will practiced a few designs under Eddie’s watch. He caught a glimpse of Bob in the office, smiling at the two of them bonding.

Will was cool. He was sweet. He was also sarcastic in a sneaky way. Sometimes he’d say something that caught Eddie off guard, just because Will seemed shy and quiet at first. He wasn’t, really.

“I know why Bob wanted me to meet you,” Will said. They’d peeled the orange and were now splitting it.

“Hm?” Eddie asked. “I mean, so you could check out the shop, right?”

“It’s okay, I know he wants me to talk to other gay people,” Will pointed out, rolling his eyes. “Bob isn’t that slick.”

Eddie chuckled. Smart kid.

“Yeah, well I’ll talk about it if you want me to, but figured I’d let you bring it up first. When I was your age, I didn’t really wanna talk to anyone, but you’re a lot different than I was.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

“Uhhhhhhh….” Eddie looked around nervously. Bob had closed the door to the office. “I was all over the place back then. I was the school freak - that’s literally what they called me.”

Eddie had gotten over the trauma of high school the last few years. His life stabilized, and he realized all the shit people thought about him were irrelevant. He left all of it behind, and he was a lot happier now.

“People bully me too,” Will confessed quietly.

“People suck,” Eddie said with a sigh. “I guess that much hasn’t changed since I graduated. Maybe we aren’t so different after all, then.”

Eddie didn’t think Will dealt drugs or got into fights like Eddie used to, but people don’t have to go through the same things to feel the same things.

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT.

Eddie’s gay. This changes everything.

Steve did his best to exit Ink About It calmly, and it took everything in him not to fully sprint across the street. He still ended up doing a fast walk that was basically a jog.

He flung himself to the door and opened it, taking a deep breath.

“Robin!” he shouted.

His eyes focused on the absolute chaos happening in the shop. People were everywhere, like what the fuck? Robin was manning the register and answering questions as best as she could, but she was clearly in over her head.

“Help,” she mouthed with terror in her eyes.

Steve desperately wanted to tell her that this was karma for her saying she was bored and sending Steve away. He also wanted to tell her about his time at Ink About It. But there were other priorities first.

Steve quickly swooped in to help her cash customers out. She scurried to the back to handle the many customers who wanted to know about the various flowers being sold.

Steve was able to gather through small talk with the customers that prom was happening at the school down the road, and everyone was getting last minute flowers for their dates.

More accurately, the parents were. Some brave kids showed up, but they looked completely lost.

They continued working until the rush died down, leaving the two of them on the edge of exhaustion.

“That was brutal,” Steve muttered as he splayed himself across the counter.

“So brutal,” Robin agreed. She was lying fully on the ground, starfish style. Bits of stems and flower petals surrounded her. It was kind of pretty, actually.

“Hold on, stay right there,” Steve said, pulling his phone from his pocket. Before Robin could object, Steve snapped a picture from above.

“Hey!” she said, sitting up. “I don’t want this moment of my life documented, Steven!”

“Yes, you do. Look.” Steve bent down and showed her the picture. After a moment, she nodded.

“Okay, fine. Yes. That’s going on my Instagram, thank you.”

“You should put it on your Hinge profile, too,” Steve suggested.

“Good idea,” Robin agreed. She jumped to her feet and sighed. “I’m gonna go clean up the back.”

“I’ll be here,” Steve replied.

Ten minutes went by, and then Steve heard a squealing.

“Shit! Fuck!” Robin didn’t actually curse that often, so Steve knew something must be very wrong.

“Robs? You okay back there?” He rounded the corner just as Robin squatted behind some bouquets, concealing herself.

“Don’t!” she yelled. “Okay, well actually I do need your help, but you have to promise not to laugh.”

“I can’t promise that, but I’ll try,” Steve said with a smirk.

Robin straightened herself back up, and Steve got the full picture of what had happened. Her hair was all kinds of tangled in a watering can.

He laughed so hard he cried.

“I hate you, DIngus,” she muttered, not nearly as amused by the situation.

“This is why you leave the watering to me,” Steve joked. “Come on, let’s get you fixed up.”

This is stupid. This is so stupid. Eddie, you are stupid. Get some help.

He was headed to Flowers for All with unscented lotion. For Steve. Because Eddie had no chill and was a simp.

He didn’t even care if Steve was queer, or if he was taken. Eddie just wanted to talk to him more.

So stupid.

Eddie walked in, triggering the bell above the door. He quickly heard voices from the back.

“Shit! Someone’s here!”

“It’s ok I got it I got it.”

There were more sounds of shuffling for a few seconds before Steve tumbled out of a doorway, blushing.

Oh my god. Did I just interrupt them hooking up?

Eddie somehow felt even more like a dumbass. He wasn’t fazed by them getting it on at work - it’s not like he hadn’t done that before - it’s that he brought goddamn unscented lotion to his client’s place of work, unannounced and unprompted.

“I - shit, sorry,” Eddie said, just about ready to turn and bolt.

“It’s okay!” Steve assured him. “What’s going on Eddie?”

Robin ran out of the room so fast she almost fell over.

“Eddie! What a wonderful surprise!”

There was a teasing quality to her voice that Eddie mistook for her trying to cover up how flustered she was. This was all but confirmed when Steve gently elbowed her in the rib.

“I brought this for you,” Eddie said. He raised the stupid fucking lotion so it was in plain view, then forced himself to walk to the counter and leave it there. “It’s what I use. Your tattoo will heal better. Uh - both of them. For both of you, I mean.”

“Hey, thanks, man.” Steve smiled and grabbed the lotion, inspecting it.

“Do all tattoo artists care this much about their clients?” Robin asked. There was that teasing sound again. Is she jealous or something?

“Well, I - Bob always tells me to be nice so I do my best. Sorry if I interrupted anything.”

Steve and Robin shared a knowing look.

“You didn’t,” Steve said casually. “We’re finally dead again, which is the way we like it.”

“Yeah,” Robin agreed. “It was rough earlier, but we survived.”

“We always do,” Steve added.

They were so friendly and kind, and they clearly loved each other very much. Eddie knew he needed to go. He had to go. He just needs to say goodbye, turn around, and -

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about something,” Eddie blurted out.

Shit.

He didn’t actually have anything to talk about. But luckily, one of his special skills included the ability to never shut the fuck up.

He took a deep breath and decided to do a little improv.

(part three)

-----------------------

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myguidingmoon-light · 4 months

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“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

No room. That’s something I’ve heard too much lately. Palestinians have been hearing that for 75 years. Since they were driven out of their homes—more than 700 000 of them—in 1948 to make room for the colony of Israel, there has been less and less room every day. Less land, literally, as even though lines and walls have been drawn over the years, Israel continues to illegally settle in Palestinian land. Less room to breathe, as the population of Gaza grew within the illegal blockade walling them into a tiny strip of land. Less room to live now, as Gaza has been under constant attack by Israeli bombs and guns and while the civilians of Gaza are pushed by this violence into even smaller and smaller “safe zones” (though there is nowhere safe in Gaza right now).

But also no room our conversations. No room in our imagination. No room in our understanding of our world of “human rights” and “developed nations.” You’d think “Palestinian” is a slur for how quickly it shuts up (or heats up) dialogue. These are our neighbours, and it feels like pulling teeth to get people to engage with their humanity—let alone ask their MP to ask our government to ask Israel’s government to please stop bombing civilians for the third month straight.

Today we recognize when a Jewish Palestinian family was forced by the state to leave their home, shelter in unfit terrain, give birth without proper medical care, survive a massacre, and become refugees. We Christians call the baby born in that family Emmanuel, which means God with us. God was born in Bethlehem, behind the border wall, in an occupation. What does that tell us about who God is?

Our Christian siblings in Palestine have asked us not to let this Christmas pass as usual. To that, I ask, what is Christmas as usual? If we don’t see our neighbours in the story of Jesus, what is the point? If we need to put the real, genuine injustices of the world out of our mind so that we can be comforted by Christmas, we are frankly doing it wrong. The point—the whole point—is that love and justice are possible for the unloved and the oppressed, even when it doesn’t feel that way. It is our responsibility to make that happen, and we can’t do that with our eyes closed.

You should feel uncomfortable about celebrating Christmas while a genocide is going on. We need to have room for that. We also need to have room for the hope that Christmas represents. We need to have room in our hearts for justice, lasting peace, and a free Palestine, because we are all needed to make it a reality.

And for God’s sake, CEASEFIRE NOW!

“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones/ and exalted those of humble estate;/ he has filled the hungry with good things,/ and the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:52-53)

I am indebted to Rev. Munther Isaac for his wisdom in helping so many of us walk through this time. Personally, I just finished his book “The Other Side of the Wall”—if you are a Christian, you have to read this book. I’ll buy you a copy if you want.

I also want to note that this post isn’t really supposed to be an explainer or an argument. I didn’t cite anything here, but if you’re curious about anything I referenced (e.g. why did I bring up medical care?), send me a message and I’d be happy to give you more details about what’s happening in Palestine. I’m no expert, but I know some people just genuinely don’t know the extent of the injustice and don’t know where to learn more; if you have questions I’m happy to help, but I’m not here to fight with you.

Same deal if you want to help but don’t know how. I’m happy to give you some ideas and even help you out with them (distance permitting). One important action you can always take is contacting your Member of Parliament. You don’t have to write anything fancy—just tell them honestly how you’re feeling and ask them to support an urgent ceasefire. This is literally your right as a Canadian, so you don’t have to worry about doing something wrong.

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havecourage-darling · 1 year

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Twilight Zone

prompt: your cheating shithead ex-boyfriend invites you to a Halloween Party and to save face you tell him you’ll bring a date. One problem. You don’t have a date.

Masterlist | Ao3

wc: 5.8K

pairing: Eddie Munson/Reader

warnings: none, fake dating, some curse words

“Don’t panic,” Steve said, hand tight on your shoulder.

You were a fucking idiot.

“Shit, shit, shit,” you mumbled, trying not to hyperventilate. Black dots were dancing in your vision, taunting you.

“She’s doing a great job at not panicking,” Robin hissed at Steve with a look.

Steve rounded you towards the backroom, trying to get you to take deep breaths. “It’s not my fault! She’s the one that said it!”

“Oh God,” you whimpered, sitting onto a plastic chair and tucking your head between your knees.

“Shut up dingus! You’re not helping!” The sound of Robin smacking Steve echoed with your ragged breaths.

“Okay, it’s not that bad,” Steve said, his knees swimming into your line of sight as he squatted in front of you. His warm hand at your back helped you breathe a little easier. “He knows you work here; I don’t know why the fuck he’d come by.”

“Because he’s an asshole,” Robin muttered and grunted when it sounded like Steve shoved her. “What? It’s true. What kind of guy comes by to his ex-girlfriend’s job after a year of avoiding her like the plague, with another girl on his arm? An asshole, that’s who.”

“I know, but be sensitive,” Steve hissed.

“I wasted three years on that cheating asshole,” you said, sitting up to look at their sympathetic faces. “Three years.”

Steve put his hand on your knee and frowned. “I did tell you I hated him.”

“Jesus, dingus, move,” Robin said, shoving him and sitting at your feet. “Look. He’s an idiot and he was trying to get a rise out of you.”

“Which I fell for!” You shrieked, panic licking at your feet. God you were an absolute moron. “What am I going to do? He knows I’m lying, that’s why he invited me to the fucking thing!”

“He invited you because he’s a pompous idiot,” she said, “listen, we can go with you but we just need to find you a date. There has to be someone he doesn’t know.”

“I’m having a Halloween party tomorrow,” Aaron said, patronizing gaze on yours. The brunette next to him giggled, her arm tangled in his.

“We’re going as Top Gun characters,” she said, snapping her gum. Of course they were. He never went anywhere without his aviators. “Why don’t you come?”

“Uh-”

“Yeah,” Aaron said, his stupid smug smile taunting you. “There will be tons of people who come alone, don’t worry about it.”

Embarrassment simmered in your blood. Of course, he assumed you were still single. Why else wouldn’t you be? Poor little you, finding your boyfriend making out with the head cheerleader in the woods. Of course, he expected you to be heartbroken over him. The prick.

“I have a date,” you said, your pride hurling the words out your mouth before your logic could stop them. “So, yeah thanks.”

Aaron’s smile disappeared and the brunette giggled. “Great! Bring him along. It’s at Aaron’s house.”

“Great,” you said, bravado already leaving you.

Aaron narrowed his eyes and smiled that same superior smile from your memories. The one that usually came with a sharp jab after. “Can’t wait to meet him.”

The bell went off in rapid succession. Robin rolling her eyes but you and Steve stood quickly. “Do you think he’d come back?” You asked, knowing you looked panicked and not wanting him to see it. Losing face is what got you into this mess.

“He wouldn’t,” Steve said. The three of you exchanged looks and ran to the swinging door. Peaking out slowly, you felt your heart in your throat as your eyes swept across the store.

“Uh, what the hell are you guys doing?” A voice said to your left.

Screaming, you jolted up and smacked your head into Robin’s chin. With twin groans of pain, you stepped out into the front and rubbed at your head. “Sorry Robin,” you said, reaching for her arm.

An amused snort brought your eyes back to Eddie, who had a few tapes in his hands and watched his gaze drag down your body.

After you’d helped clear his name last spring break, and life returned to normal, you still wouldn’t necessarily call Eddie a friend. An acquaintance? Well, he was someone you liked bickering with – his over-the-top reactions always pulling a reluctant laugh from you. Besides, there really wasn’t a way to go through what you’d all fought without coming out the other side with some type of bond.

You ran into him from time to time – at game nights in Wheeler’s basement, at the group movie outings once a month, even once on campus. He’d told you he was taking a few classes while he worked at the record store downtown.

“Do I even want to know?” Eddie asked, resting his chin on his palm.

The sarcastic quip was on the tip of your tongue when Robin’s arm snatched yours. “What about Eddie?” She asked, expression elated.

“What about me?” Eddie asked, leaning forward.

Steve straightened, whirling around to the two of you. “I mean, it’s not a bad idea.”

“What isn’t a bad idea?”

Eddie? Eddie Munson? He’d laugh at you. There’s no way Eddie would deign to take you to the party.

“No, absolutely not,” you said, crossing your arms. “Why can’t you do it?”

Steve shot you a flat look. “I’m sorry, did you think he’d believe it was a date from our interaction literally twenty minutes ago? We’ve known each other since we were literal newborns.”

You groaned, in denial. Everyone knew you and Steve were more platonic than him and Robin. Shit, you had more chemistry with metal pole. “What about one of your friends?”

“Who else does Steve know? Me? Teenagers?” Robin snorted and ignored Steve’s injured look. “Don’t look at me like that it’s the truth. Eddie’s not a bad idea.”

“Am I invisible?”

The three of you continued to ignore him. “Would Aaron buy it?” You asked, wringing your hands. Eddie was going to laugh you out the door if you asked. Besides, you knew he hated high school parties. “I’m going to be sick. He’s going to poke at the story until it falls apart – in front of everyone. Fuck.” You could see it now, unravelling in the middle of his stupid living room.

“Of course, he’ll buy it, he has like two functioning brain cells,” Robin said, “I don’t know what you saw in him.”

“Right?” Steve said, putting his arms on his hips.

Throwing your hands up you fought the urge to slap them both. “We’ve been over this!”

“The party is tomorrow, what other choice do we have?”

“Why do I feel kind of offended?” Eddie asked, hopping onto the counter.

Robin snickered and Steve rolled his eyes. Catching your anxious gaze, Eddie’s amused smile softened into something more sincere. “What’s up buttercup? I’m always down for another adventure. Eddie the Brave is at your service fair maiden.” You dutifully ignored how his upturned lips caused your stomach to flip.

Steve shot you a look that you knew said ‘see!’

Flinging your vest off and throwing it into Steve’s face, you hopped over the counter. “I have a proposition for you.”

Eddie joined you and quirked one of his brows. “That’s a new one,” he said, his face draining of color. “Is it – is this another Vecna thing?”

The four of your shuddered and you shook your head. “It’s worse,” you said, groaning and massaging your temples. “Can we go to your van?”

Wary, Eddie nodded and pointed to the tapes. “I’m coming back for those!” You shoved the front door open and all but ran over to Eddie’s car.

Jumping into the back, you sprawled into a beanbag chair and groaned. How had you gotten into this mess?

“Alright buttercup,” Eddie said, knocking his shoe against yours. “What’s up?”

You just needed to rip it off like a band-aid.

“How would you like to pretend to be madly in love with me for one night?” You asked, watching as Eddie’s head whipped around to yours. There was a beat of silence before a familiar mischievous glint grew in his eyes.

“Pretend?” He said, surprising you with a wink. “Sweetheart, who says I’m not?”

Your heart slammed against your ribcage and you hated him for it. “Don’t be an asshole, please? I’ll pay you?”

Eddie’s nose wrinkled and something like offense flittered across his face. “You’re better than that.”

“No, I am that desperate,” you sighed. “I’ve got like a hundred bucks!”

“Ah, is that why you’re slumming it with me?” He kicked up his feet onto the box in front of him and shot you a knowing gaze. “Did you ask the whole town population before me?”

Watching him for a beat, you saw a flash of honesty under his sarcasm and felt the need to be truthful. “No, you’re the first person I asked.”

At that, Eddie blinked at you. “Why?”

“Aside from the fact that you walked in at the right time? You’re trustworthy,” you said, shrugging. “I trust you not to make too much fun of me for it or I don’t know, hold it against me.”

As if you’d smacked him over the head with a bat, Eddie froze – expression stunned.

“You don’t have to pay me,” he said eventually, “I’m not that gross.”

Hopes lifting, you straightened, hands wringing in your lap and you stared at him. “Are you sure?”

“Actually, I’ll take a batch of those chocolate chip cookies you made once like four years ago at a bake sale.”

Floored, you turned to crane your neck up at him. “You remember them?” You hadn’t even really talked to Eddie four years ago.

“Buttercup, when you eat the best cookie that you’ve ever had in your life – you don’t forget it.”

Beaming, and feeling so, so relieved, you threw your arms around Eddie’s neck. “Thank you, Munson. Seriously. I owe you one.” His body was firm against yours, warmth sinking into your skin and leaving behind that fluttery feeling.

Cautious, but secure, arms came around your waist and pulled you into his lap more comfortably. His head came down to your shoulder and he hooked his chin over it. “It’s nothing. That’s what friends are for right?”

“Sorry,” you said after a second too long, scrambling off of him. “I’m just – today’s been exhausting.”

“I get it,” Eddie said, his expression unreadable. “What’s happening tomorrow tonight?”

Explaining how your ex-boyfriend had come in with his new girlfriend and invited you to his party, Eddie’s expression twisted. “I never liked that asshole,” he said, unashamed.

Rubbing your eye, you sighed. “Yeah, join the club apparently.”

“It’s a little cliché, isn’t it?” Eddie asked, sitting back. “The student body president and the quarterback?”

“Yeah, it is,” you said, “trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Hey,” he said, his warm hand coming up to a patch of bare skin on your wrist. Why did it feel like he was branding you? “I used to have a shaved head. We all make mistakes.”

At that, you burst out laughing. He had a small smile as he watched you and you shook your head. “I liked you with your buzzed head, you were nice to me then.”

Indignation took over his expression and you hid your grin behind your hand. “I’ve always been nice to you!”

“Nah, you got too cool for the rest of us once you were a sophomore. Remember that time in middle school, we were partners for some art project and you came over my house?”

Eddie quieted; his eyes were unfocused like he was reliving the memory. “Your mom had pictures of you and your sister on the wall,” he said, nodding. “I biked over from my house and your mom almost killed me. She said she would’ve given me a ride.”

You laughed. “I was so embarrassed,” you said, rubbing your knuckles.

“Why?” Eddie smiled. “I thought your family was cool.”

What? Your family? Your nervous mom and too comfortable dad? Your little sister had hovered, asking him a million questions about his bike and leather jacket. Honestly, you thought he’d been annoyed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Grinning, you ducked your head and fiddled with the zipper of your bag. “Thanks.”

The air between you both shifted and you glanced up at him. His stupid big eyes were taking you in and looked ready to say something when a loud slam to the back door startled you.

Steve stood with his eyes narrowed at you both. “Keith is passing by in a few, said he needs something.”

You nodded, standing and hopping out the back of the van. “I’ll be right in.” Steve shot you a look and you shot him one back as he tossed Eddie the tapes he’d been holding a few minutes ago.

“Thanks Harrington,” Eddie said. Steve nodded and brought a hand up as he walked back into the store.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow?” Eddie asked you.

“Yeah,” you said, smiling, “eight?”

“It’s a date,” he said, grinning as you blinked, flustered. “I mean, you are my girlfriend, right?”

“Right,” you said, unsteadily. Without second guessing yourself, you surged to grab his hand. “Seriously, thanks Eddie.”

His hypnotic eyes softened even further and as you almost tripped over your feet at the sight. You really needed to get a grip on yourself.

“It’s fine, you look fine, this is fine,” you recited to yourself, again, for the third time that night. You were almost sure your anxiety had started to somewhat bleed into your nonchalance. The white-knuckled grip on your steering wheel helped confirm that for you.

Parking down the street, you hopped out your car and took a deep breath. “It’s going to be fine,” you hissed at your reflection, willing yourself to calm down.

At such short notice – and the fact that you were sure Eddie wasn’t going to dress up – you and Robin had settled on Joan Jett. All you’d really needed was to borrow your mother’s old leather jacket, and dress in black. Robin had artfully applied your eyeliner and black eyeshadow. Steve had supplied a blown-up guitar that did complete your look but also looked hilarious. If you weren’t two seconds from tossing your cookies, you would have chuckled at it slung over your shoulder. Flattening your shirt and straightening the jacket, you did have to admit, you did feel a little badass.

“Buttercup?” A familiar voice called out behind you.

Whirling around, you saw Eddie – dressed as he normally was – and you almost crumbled in relief. You knew he wouldn’t leave you hanging but, it was nice to see him.

Eddie’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he took in your hastily put together costume. Eyes darting all over your body, you tried not to squirm. You didn’t think you’d ever heard Eddie be this quiet – even in the Upside Down as you both beat those demobats away from Dustin. Feeling self-conscious, you started second guessing Robin’s encouragement.

“Does it look stupid?” You hiked up the inflatable strap higher on your shoulder.

“No,” he said quickly, clearing his throat, “you look great.”

“Thanks,” you said, ducking your head and playing with the ends of your wig. “You look great too.”

Eddie’s brow rose. “I always look like this.”

Walking towards the front door - you glanced at him over your shoulder – and with confidence that you didn’t have, you winked, “I know.”

Laughing at his expression, you walked through the threshold and immediately bumped into Aaron.

Of course, you groaned internally.

“Look who finally arrived,” Aaron said, in a stupid looking green tracksuit. “Drinks are in the kitchen, music’s downstairs. Upstairs – I’m sure you remember.”

Fighting the need to gag, you took a step back and tilted your head up. “I don’t, but I’m sure we’ll manage. We can’t stand for long anyway. We’ve got plans after.”

“We?” Aaron said, glancing around you. “Seems like your mysterious boyfriend was busy tonight? What a coincidence.”

“Sorry sweetheart,” Eddie’s voice said right behind you, his arm came around your waist and settled on your lower stomach. A laugh threatened to bubble up at the sight of Aaron’s frozen expression. “I was parking.”

“Munson?” Aaron said, recovering his ability to speak. “You’re dating Munson?”

“Sorry, who are you?” Eddie asked, his lips coming to your cheekbone, as if by habit.

Aaron’s eyes tracked his movement, his eye twitching, and you tried to stay relaxed. “This is Aaron,” you said and almost smiled when you saw Eddie’s confused expression.

“You were at my last party, selling,” Aaron said dryly.

Eddie smiled wide and fake, shrugging. “I do a lot of parties bud,” he said, smacking his shoulder like it was a hilarious joke. “My girl said there would be booze?”

You’d never admit it to anyone – ever – but the sound of Eddie calling you his girl did something to your chest.

“Yeah,” Aaron said through gritted teeth. “Kitchen at the back.”

“Great! Come on let’s find some beer and a dark corner,” Eddie said, molten eyes on yours.

Nodding, since you seemed incapable of speech, you let Eddie lead you.

“Too much?” He asked quietly, his breath warm against your ear.

“That was perfect, thank you,” you said, relishing in Aaron’s stupid dumbfounded expression. A nervous laugh fell from your lips, your eyes glancing over his shoulder. “That asshole looked stunned. You’re amazing, Munson.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Eddie joked, grabbing two beer cans and pressing the colder one into your hands.

“Since I’m known for pushing my luck, how much would you hate me if we danced?” You asked, trying your best to avoid Aaron’s death glare from across the room.

Eddie winced, his shoulder dipping to avoid a drunken girl’s waving hand. “To this?” He groaned, dropping his head to the side. “Can we wait until the next song?”

Smirking, you’d forgotten how pretentious he was with his music tastes. As if hearing your internal teasing, he rolled his eyes.

“Come on, even you have to admit this song is shit,” he huffed, taking another small sip.

Shrugging a shoulder, you glanced back out towards the makeshift dancefloor. “What if the next one is worse?”

His face paled. “Worse than this?” You threw your head back and laughed, delighted in his misery.

“You’re hilarious, Munson,” you said, shaking your head, “if this is shit music, what’s good music?”

“The classics, obviously,” Eddie said.

Settling your hip against a counter in the kitchen, you avoided a grabby hand as someone reached for a bowl of chips next to you. “The classics, maestro? Like what? Iron Maiden?”

“You know,” Eddie said, tilting his head sideways, “that sounded a little bit like you were mocking me.”

Gasping dramatically, you clutched a hand to your chest and shook your head. “Me? I would never.”

Smirking, Eddie’s eyes glanced over your shoulder before snapping back to you. “Okay, not to freak you out but the quarterback looks like he’s trying to join us. Maybe it’s time for that dance?”

“Shit,” you hissed, trying not to nonchalantly look over your shoulder before Eddie’s hand stopped you.

“What are you doing? Don’t look, Jesus Christ,” Eddie said, tossing your full beers into the trash and pulling you onto the dancefloor.

You had to keep a tight grip on Eddie’s hand so you wouldn’t lose him in the wave of people who joined at the same time. He brought your hips close to his, Eddie’s chest pressed against your back and - for a reason you were trying not to examine too closely – your breath stuttered. Eddie’s breath fanned over your bare neck and you knew, you just knew, you weren’t going to survive this goddamn night. Mind racing, you tried to look natural when Madonna’s voice boomed through the speakers.

Eddie groaned in your ear, the sound reverberating straight to your gut, and you laughed. “I told you the next one was going to be worse.”

“Don’t remind me,” he sighed. “When are Buckley and Harrington getting here?”

Without overthinking it, you pulled his wrist up to your face and realized they were already late. “They should be here soon,” you said, smiling at the memory of your conversation with them, “I think they’re coming as some cartoon characters.”

“Buckley’s idea?”

“Probably.”

“I think the coast is clear, Buttercup,” Eddie said, his hair tickling your cheek as he turned to survey the room. “I think your quarterback crawled back to whatever gate he was birthed from.”

“Gate?”

Eddie snorted. “Yeah, like to the Upside Down,” he said, looking pleased with himself. Laughing so hard a few people turned to shoot you weird looks you had to let Eddie lead you off the dance floor.

“I know my joke wasn’t that funny but flattery will get you everywhere,” Eddie said, herding you towards a chair. “I’ll get us some soda, I’m gonna see if I can grab food. I’m fucking starving.”

“Check in the cabinets next to the stove,” you said, “that’s where Aaron hid his favorite things from his little brothers.”

Eddie’s brows rose and you shrugged. “Fuck him, right?”

“Insider information, right on,” he said, “you gonna be okay?”

“I’m not five Munson,” you said, grinning when he held up both his hands. “Alright, sorry Eagle One.” With a dramatic flourish, he made a beeline towards the kitchen.

“Pres?” Someone called from your left. “I thought that was you with Munson. It’s been a while.”

Shoulders tense, you turned and relaxed a little when you saw your old Chemistry partner. Amanda was dressed as a witch, her hat skewed a little but a friendly smile on her face.

“Hey, Amanda,” you smiled, faintly remembering that she’d gone to a local college. “How are you?”

“I’m good, school and work – same bullshit you know?” She said with a dry sigh that had you laughing. Her eyebrow quirked as she nodded towards the kitchen. “I’d ask how you’re doing but by the way Munson couldn’t take his eyes off of you, I’d say good.”

You laughed nervously, tugging on the ends of your wig. “Uh yeah we’re-”

“New?” She asked with a smile. “I like him a lot better than Touchdown Aaron.”

Rolling your eyes, Amanda laughed – her shoulders shaking. “I hated that nickname,” you admitted.

“It’s so pretentious, especially considering how much he likes it,” Amanda agreed. “Munson is a major step up. He’s cool.”

“Yeah,” you said, turning towards the kitchen, “he is.”

Amanda’s laughter had you turning back to her. “I always knew you had a thing for him.”

“What?” You sputtered, almost choking on your spit.

A warm hand came to your back and Eddie’s scent immediately enveloped you. “Hey, I brought you another,” he said, lips coming down to your ear, “just soda.”

“Thanks,” you said, watching Amanda’s knowing look. Without thinking too much about it, you rose on your toes and planted a kiss to his jaw. The scruff on his cheek scratched against your lips and you bit down on your cheek to keep from sighing.

To Eddie’s credit, he looked surprised for a moment before pulling you into his chest by your hip. He kept an arm around your waist loosely, sipping at his own drink. “Hey Johnson, haven’t seen you in a while.”

Amanda smiled. “College is out there kicking my ass,” she said.

“Tell me about it,” he huffed, both of them quickly talking about their upcoming term papers. The music trailed off into something a little slower and you swayed to the music, half-listening to their conversation.

Midway through his sentence, without breaking his stride, Eddie plucked a small bag of chips from his pocket. Handing them to you, you laughed and opened the party mix. Taking the first bite, you offered him the second. Without hesitating, he took it directly from your fingers. His chapped lips brushed your index finger, his tongue darting out to catch any crumbs from his lips.

What the fuck? You groaned, your stomach flipping. It was too hot by the dance floor; you needed a little space. Eddie’s scent and the beer on an empty stomach was getting to you. Handing him the bag, you motioned towards the bathroom. “I’ll be right back,” you shouted over the new loud song.

Amanda nodded and Eddie pulled you back in, kissing your temple before letting you go.

Walking through the crowd, you quickly made your way to the downstairs bathroom. Locking the door behind you, you took a deep breath. “Jesus Christ, get it together,” you said to yourself, hating the look in your own eyes.

You took a few minutes to touch up your make up and splash cold water onto your hands. After shooting yourself another look, as if that could control your fluttering stomach, you walked out the bathroom. Immediately smacking into something, you stumbled. A hand shot out to steady you and you rubbed your sore elbow.

“Shit, I’m sorry I wasn’t looking where I was…” your voice trailed off as a pair of familiar eyes smiled down at you.

“You’re good sweetheart,” Aaron said, hand still on your forearm. Your eyes widening at the sudden corner you found yourself in. “You look good.”

“I know,” you said, internally high-fiving yourself at your quick response. “What’s it to you?”

Aaron sighed. “Still mad, I see.”

Balling your hands into fists, you tried to move past him. “I’m not anything at you,” you said wincing when his hand came out to grab at your wrist. “You mean nothing to me.”

“Come on sweetheart, that can’t be true,” he whispered, “you forget how well I know you.”

“Knew me,” you hissed, trying to yank your arm out his grip.

Unfortunately, it was like trying to move a boulder. “Now why didn’t you ever dress like this when we were together?” He asked, getting close enough for his breath to fan across your temple. “You look hot.”

“Aaron let me go,” you demanded, pulling away from him.

“Not until you talk to me,” he said, his grip tightening to the point where you let out a small cry. Jesus, you’d forgotten how much he hated to lose.

Glancing up at him, eyes narrowed, you grit your teeth. “You didn’t seem to want to talk much right after you dumped me, so if you could do me the favor and get the fuck off of me – I’d appreciate it.” When he didn’t budge, you moved to stomp on his foot. “I need to get back to Eddie.”

At that, Aaron finally shifted. “That loser? That’s a nice downgrade you got there,” he sneered, his ugly underbelly coming out to light.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” you snapped, “he’s better than you in every way.”

Aaron’s eyes snapped to yours and you couldn’t help but take the cheap shot.

“In every. Single. Way,” you said, eyes darting to his pants, making sure he understood.

Anger flashed through his eyes and you slammed into the wall, grunting from the impact as he shoved you.

Ready to knee him in the balls, you’d barely gotten a step in before he was tossed to the ground. Blinking, surprised, you turned to see a furious looking Eddie.

“Are you okay?” He asked, hands flittering over you. Eddie’s fingers gently took the wrist you cradled to your chest and his eyes darkened.

Worried, you pulled Eddie’s hand into yours. “No, Eddie – it’s not worth it,” you wrapped yourself around his arm and he stilled.

“Don’t ever put your hands on her again,” Eddie said through clenched teeth. Aaron shot you both a withering glare before huffing.

“Whatever, she’s not worth it,” Aaron said before disappearing around a corner.

Eddie moved to follow and you clung to him tighter. “Eddie, don’t, come on – let’s go outside,” you said shoving him towards the French doors.

Aaron’s yard was a huge span of land that led out to the forest and you ignored the couples on the deck who seemed to be in their own worlds. You tightened your grip on Eddie’s hand and pulled him towards the oak tree by the fence that you knew still had the rope swing hanging from it.

You sighed, pinching your nose once you’d made it. “Eddie I-”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said head thrown back as he sighed. “I overstepped. Not because he was hurting you, but I shouldn’t have shoved him. I was just so pissed-”

“Eddie,” you stopped him, hands on his shoulders, “I’m sorry.”

“Why the hell are you sorry?”

Frowning, you motioned to the house. “I’m the one who brought you into this mess!”

His eyes hardened and he gently took your hands in his. “Buttercup, that has nothing to do with it. I’d do anything for you,” he said, the words making you smile, “he pushed you into the wall, I saw you wince. I’d be shocked if you don’t have a bruise on your arm tomorrow.”

“He’s always…had a temper,” you admitted, glancing down at your tender wrist. “It’s never gotten out of hand, I swear.”

You knew he didn’t believe you because his eyes flashed.

“I can’t believe you went out with that asshole. You deserve so much better than him – I knew he was one of those fucking losers who think the world revolves around him…” You watched Eddie pace, his hands a flurry of movement as he ranted.

I’d do anything for you.

The words bounced around in your head, unable to let go of the sentiment.

Eddie’s chest puffed out, his arms crossed now, as he worked himself up into a frenzy. His eyes flashed and it made something within you snap. On impulse, you took two steps towards him and kissed him. At his complete lack of response, you immediately know it’s a mistake.

This entire night was a lie, not real life.

Mortified, with an apology ready, you back off. Eddie’s eyes flash again, reanimated, and you hear him mumble something incoherently before grabbing you by the neck and pulling you back to him.

Lips crashing, you scrambled for purchase on his jacket, wanting to climb him like a tree. He pushed you against the tree, the bark catching on your denim jacket. His hand was firm on your neck, keeping you close.

“Fuck,” he muttered, leaning just a fraction away for some air. “I’ve been wanting to do that since freshman year of high school.”

“What?” You asked dumbly, ears ringing.

Eddie smiled, a soft and small thing. His fingers danced across your cheekbone, like you were strings he could strum into a melody. “For someone so smart, you really have a knack of missing what’s right in front of you.”

Blinking, you watched him sigh and felt his arms wrap around you tighter.

“I like you, Buttercup, and I have for a while,” he said, nosing at your neck. His teeth scraped across the delicate skin by your collarbone and you couldn’t help but shiver. You felt his smile against your skin and felt a little embarrassed.

What? “Why didn’t you tell me?” You asked.

“You were with Captain Douchebag back there,” he snorted.

“I’ve been single for a year,” you reminded him.

Eddie shrugged. “You’re intimidating. A little scary,” he admitted. “When I cut the rope in the gate last year, you chucked your shoe down at my face and jumped through without blinking. I thought you’d cracked your leg in half.”

The familiar argument had your hackles rising. “Because you were being an idiot. What stupid ass self-sacrificing dumb move-”

“Please, tell me what you really think Buttercup.”

“Besides,” you said, ignoring his smirk, “I cry at like, most of the movies we watch. A cute picture of a puppy, or that time Dustin wrote me that nice card.”

Smiling fondly, Eddie’s lips brushed against your brow and you felt his exhale on your temple. “I know, it’s really fucking cute.”

Eddie liked you? He kissed you. Eddie Munson had kissed you back.

“You absolute shithead,” you said, watching uncertainty flash across Eddie’s face. “I thought that you thought I was annoying and just ignored my presence most of the time.”

“What? Why?”

“The last time we went to the theater! I came late and ended up sitting next to you. I accidentally knocked over my popcorn and you got up to go to the bathroom. When you came back you sat on the other side of the row by Robin!”

Eddie groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. “Yeah, um, you – you kneeled in front of me, with your eyes all worried as you picked up the popcorn.”

“I thought the butter was going to stain your bag!”

“Buttercup. You were kneeling. By my feet. Staring up at me with your fucking eyes and stumbling over your words.” He said slowly. “I know I might look Godlike but I’m a mere mortal and you’re an itch I couldn’t scratch.”

Oh.

“Yeah,” he said, ears turning pink. “I was two seconds from hauling you into the bathroom with me. It was easier to keep my hands to myself if I wasn’t always breathing in your stupid perfume.” His nose trailed along your neck and you squirmed, thighs tightening.

“I don’t – ah – wear perfume,” you said.

Eddie groaned, forehead dropping to your temple. “Of course, you don’t.”

Feeling a little bold, you reached for his hips and brought them closer to you. His breath hitched and eyes flew to yours.

“Buttercup?”

Licking your bottom lip, you brought your thumb up to his. “Why don’t we get the hell out of here?”

Eddie’s eyes darkened, his edges fraying a bit. “Weren’t we going to wait for Harrington and Buckley?”

“They’ll be fine without us,” you whispered, bringing his lips back down to yours. “I think we need to make up for lost time.”

Without another word, he gripped your hand and tugged you back into the house and towards the front door. Laughing at his sudden urgency, you let yourself be led.

“You seem to be in a rush,” you joked as he opened your door for you.

Eddie smiled at you with such fondness that you heart skipped. “Yeah, I gotta lock this down before you change your mind.” He leaned against the open door, fingers twitching like he was missing your touch.

Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, you dragged him closer and kissed him. “Not happening.”

“Remind me to thank the quarterback sometime,” Eddie said against your lips.

“What?”

Grinning, he leaned back. “For inviting you tonight. Best party ever.”

At that, you smiled. “Best party ever,” you agreed, laughing.

A/N: This is painfully not proofread and barely edited so excuse all mistakes/typos. I wrote this a million years ago it seems like and thought, why the heck not - Halloween is a good a day as any!

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson #happy halloween

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miss-americana-reputation · 1 year

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Back Off Bitch

klaus mikealson x reader

A/N: reader uses she/her pronouns and has female anatomy

Angst

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i sat in bed with the bedsheets pulled up to my chest, along with my knees tucked against my chest while i watched klaus get dressed.

“why do you have to go?” i ask. “cami called, she said it was an emergency. the witches are waiting to strike and if they hurt her i swear to god.” he says while pulling on a shirt.

is it bad i wished they would hurt her

“do you have feelings for her?” i question. “what?” he pauses and turns to face me. “no, i only have feelings for you, love.” he promises. “it’s just you’ve been spending a lot more time with her, i’m feeling like i’m on the back burner.” i look up at him getting dressed again.

“love, i’m sorry, but i can’t talk about this right now.” he says as he pulls on his boots. “klaus.” i state. “what?” he looks sharply at me. “tell me if there’s something going on, don’t lead me on.” i beg. “it’s fine.” he scoffs as he leaves.

i fight back tears as he leaves. that wasn’t the first time he left without a kiss goodbye. that was the first time he left while scoffing at me, the first time he left me in the middle of the night to be with cami.

i sigh and get dressed back into my comfy clothes. i debated on wearing one of his shirts but decide against it.

i feel like i’m going insane, does he even love me anymore. eventually the dam breaks and tears stream down my face onto the pillow. i manage to quiet myself into small sniffles, remembering the people who are also asleep in the house has supernatural hearing.

“you okay?” rebekah softly knocks on the door. she opens the door to see me laying in bed while quickly wiping off the tears on my face. “what has my idiot brother done this time?” she asks as she sits down beside me. “h-he left.” i start to cry again.

“where to?” she asks. “cami’s.” i respond as she holds me against her. “it’s okay.” she comforts and softly rubs my back. she pulls away so i can see her beautifully worried face. “hey, i’m here. klaus is an idiot for leaving someone like you alone.” she sends a polite smile my way.

eventually she left and i spent the rest of the night alone. i woke up and pulled myself together before heading downstairs.

i’m making myself tea while klaus walks into the kitchen. “morning love.” he says, acting like last night didn’t happen. i don’t pay attention, just move to the counter. “love.” he sighs. “where’d you go?” i ask. “cami got paranoid the witches were gonna come for her, so i stayed the night.” he responds.

i almost threw my cup at him.

“you stayed the night at another woman’s place?” i ask with my voice laced in venom. “i had to, she could’ve died.” he responds. “what if i did?” i throw back. “you have my siblings here to protect you, don’t be silly.” he smiles.

“fuck you.” i storm out. i reach the main part when he stops me. “please, let’s talk.” he reaches for my arms. “back off.” i free my arms from him. he tries talking but i cut him off, “go talk to cami about this. go spend another night at her place, go fuck her while you’re at it.”

“i mean for someone so old you’ll think you’d be wise, but christ, you love surprising people.” by now rebekah and elijah have stepped outside to watch and intervene if it gets too heated.

“honestly klaus, who do you think you are? you cheated on me with a step down from what you had. like jesus, you’d think you’d wise up. clearly, you’re still as dumb as ever.” i yell. “i mean you think you could replace me? no one in this world would put up with your stupidity and psychotic ass.” i add.

before he could talk i storm upstairs. “wait!” he barks and follows me. he joined me in the room we once shared to see me tossing my stuff into bags. “baby, darling, love, wait let’s talk, please.” he begs. “no, i’ve gave you too many chances. this was the final straw. i’m done, it’s over.” i spit.

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#klaus mikealson x reader #klaus mikaelson #angst #he’s an asshole #implied cheating #i hate him #x reader #the orginals #the vampire diaries #not proofread #fanfic

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ms-cartoon · 1 year

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New HB Episode! (Jesus...)

Alright... So I seen the new episode - can't say this show gradually gets any better. I can fairly say there was only one decent thing about this episode, and that was the backstory with Moxxie and why he has daddy issues. Seriously though, why does almost EVERYBODY in this goddamn show have daddy issues??? And why are all these dads a**holes?? And yes, I'm going to include Millie's father. Of course, he's no abusive dad, but he (nor his wife) wasn't kind to Moxxie at all, and all because he was considered a weakling who uses guns as a choice for weapons. Which sounds like a pretty stupid reason. There are people who are scared to even pick up a gun, let alone pull a trigger.

I couldn't tell if I was skimming through this episode, or if the episode was just skimming itself and I just couldn't keep up. I think it's mostly the latter, cuz MY GOD, this was so rushed! I had to watch this twice to process whatever was going on. Everything just feels so crammed into this episode There's also Moxxie's ex-boyfriend, but I'll get to that in a minute.

⦁ So the first start of the episode, we start with Moxxie and Loona in the room. I just love how Loona is just there, lol!! She's just sitting at the table on her phone and has no speaking lines whatsoever. She might as well have not even appeared in this episode, for real. What's bad about this is that she was only there for another "Moxxie is fat!" joke. I really don't get what's so funny about this gag. Why is it even a gag? Moxxie is not fat! He don't even look it. I highly doubt he's even heavy. Loona and Blitzo are just being d*cks to him. It doesn't even help that he mentions he lost a few pounds just so they stop making fun of him. Now it's just sad!!! They body-shamed Moxxie so much, he felt he had to lose a few pounds so they would leave him alone about it. They did not make this funny, they just made it worse. PLZ STOP with the unfunny fat jokes!!

⦁ This seems to be the most try-hard horniest episode compared to the ones that have Stolas in it. Seriously, what in the gracious hell is with these dildos popping up from chairs and walls!!!???

Then there's Blitzo who has photos of porn in the drawers in his office (why would he even put those where people can open it up and take stuff out anyway??)!!! And then you got this perverted fish (who's the most annoying out of everybody in this episode) tryna bang everybody in IMP! He's literally just another Stolas, Blitzo, and Angel Dust character put in one: an LGBT horny mess who just wants to get his mack on anyone around him or just certain people, sexually harassing them in the process. Plus, anything that comes out of his mouth is a literal sex joke and it's just uncomforting.

⦁ So Moxxie's family is in the mafia and they're rich...... But why??? I thought Imps were of lower class and practically poor compared to the other species of demons.

⦁ You mean to tell me Millie and Moxxie dated the same guy at one point in their lifetime before getting together? Okay, but it seems to be too much of a coincidence. Idk, it just comes off as odd.

⦁ So Moxxie and Chaz had a thing going on before he met up with Millie. But when they were together, their relationship seemed to be more centered around lust than there was genuine love. Obviously considering when Chaz was quick to take the money and abandoned Moxxie when he needed help during the heist. Now this, amongst other parts of this series, just keeps up the stereotypical nonsense that all gay dudes are horny for each other and want nothing but to get it on. I don't understand what Moxxie even sees in his perverted a**. What makes no sense about this is that Moxxie isn't the type of guy that just get's horny like that. He's not perverted and doesn't get turned on over the slightest of things, yet he's shown stroking a gun while cleaning it while at the same time feeling pleasure. Chaz is more vulgar than Blitzo, and Moxxie barely tolerates him! So, wtf??

⦁ So in hell, you can pretty much get away with anything illegal with no consequences. Whether it'd be robbing a bank, murdering someone, sexual harassment, etc. So why in THE HELL is there a prison???!!

⦁ Blitzo and Moxxie's meeting makes no sense to me. So #1, I was under the assumption Moxxie met Blitzo after he met and married Millie, but now they're telling us they met in jail right after Chaz abandoned Moxxie. #2, Why is Blitzo quick to let Moxxie join IMP after only saying a few words to him? He didn't even ask him for his name or let him speak or anything - he was just like, "Hey let's bust outta here and you can join my company!" #3 Why is Moxxie even smiling? What has Blitzo said to make him feel better so quickly after basically being dumped?? Does he feel like he's being accepted or something? Like bro, you just met this dude and you didn't even say a word to him.

⦁ Millie's more pissed at Chaz for abandoning Moxxie at one point. Why is Millie getting so angry and quick to kill Chaz over something that happened she wasn't even present for!? She never even met Moxxie around that time. Plus, it's not like that situation is bothering Moxxie now. There was no need for her to get so triggered here. Not saying she's not right to get upset about it, but the sudden rage was a little extra.

⦁ If Blitzo and Moxxie were considered friends when they met, then why is Blitzo such an ass to him all the time?? Are we supposed to give Blitzo props for acknowledging or being nice to Moxxie?

⦁ Crimson seems to make a better villain than any other antagonist introduced in this series. Mainly because he has motivation. From what I can gather from this, from Crim's perspective, Moxxie was turning soft because of his wife. It seems that he was extremely pissed off that the mother disagreed with how he raised Moxxie, going as far as to kill her. Granted it was too far and for a petty reason, but it's better than just doing things and having no motivation for them, unlike Stella.

⦁ A priest.... in hell...?

⦁ They only have Moxxie stand up for himself ONCE in this episode, and it's not even enough. His whole life from when he was a kid, he was pushed around by his father and put up with his abuse. The second he meets him after a long time, he's still afraid of him. The only time he puts his foot down is when he says he's not gonna go along with whatever his father plans for him and refuses his commands.... and that was it. It seemed like he was threatening his dad initially, saying how good he was at his job, and not even a second later he gets tased and knocked out, becoming a damsel in distress. That was the most brave we get out of him. If anything, his freakin WIFE was doing the most out of him once more, becoming the man of the relationship as always!! Wouldn't it have been better if Moxxie tried to get out of the knot and fought his dad or Chaz? Maybe he could have helped out Millie and they could make it to where Millie was having difficulties fighting all those gang members.

⦁ Speaking of that; Millie is only useful in battle only when the plot deems it necessary. It kinda seems like she's falling in and out of being a talented fighter. She gets taken down at one point and then the next she'll beat everybody's ass with no sweat! Sure - defeat an entire mob whether it be a mafia or a bunch of agents and take down a whole damn sea monster, but get knocked out by a freakin glass bottle and your leg ruptured by a bear trap...Yeah, I can totally buy that. I feel like they were being a little extra with Millie taking down all those gang members anyway. As I said, she could've had some difficulty fighting all those dudes and Moxxie could've helped her.

⦁ I swear- the women in this show get no respect not just in the show itself, but from the writers. Millie is once again only existing to be just a woman who's married to Moxxie and only gets angry and violent just for Moxxie. There's at least one episode that should've been about her, but it was mostly about her husband and she was just there as his moral support. Literally, the only thing we get outta her in this episode is her extremely hot temper, and all because of Chaz, who she dated at one point. Why is she so upset with Chaz? Why did she hate him so much before she knew about his relationship with Moxxie? What did he do to make her dump him? Or did he dump her? How did she even end up with a guy like him?? We don't know!! We only get to know about Moxxie's past relationship with him and how it faltered, and that is such a letdown! This could've been our chance to explore Millie as a character, even if it's a little flashback of her love life.

⦁ I'm not gonna disclude Moxxie's mother in this. Honestly, I don't think it was necessary for her to get killed off just so we could feel more sympathy for Moxxie. We can already see how his father treats him. Can't forget Loona or Blitzo. Not even Millie's parents liked him.

⦁ I'm I the only one who feels like Millie and Moxxie as a couple is boring? Yeah they love each other and would probably die for each other and that's nice n all, but wouldn't it be interesting to have Millie and Moxxie have a slight argument at least once? We all know these two love each other to death. They're sweeter and more loving towards each other than anybody else around them, and that's why it would be interesting to see a quarrel. Sometimes, you can't be a married couple without having an argument or two at one point. Millie clearly felt upset that she was kept in the dark about Moxxie's family. She kept on questioning Moxxie; "Why haven't I met dad before? Are you okay? You know you can tell me anything, right?" And Moxxie would just continuously dodge the questions and not tell her anything. This actually could've been another opportunity for Millie's character. Not that she has to lash out at him, but maybe she could've told him how she felt about him not saying anything about Crimson, his ex, his mother, or how he feeling in general while also having an upset attitude y'know. Maybe Moxxie could've argued back and said he just didn't wanna worry her or something.

⦁ I don't think Moxxie and Chaz necessarily have to marry just so Chaz could be a part of the family. If this is just about financial issues then why can't Crim and Chaz come to an agreement or something? How did Crim not know that Chaz was actually not rich?

⦁ I just know people are triggered over the fact that Blitzo slept Chaz and are like "BLITZO NO!! YOU BELONG TO STOLAS!!" or some whiny sh*t like that, even though Stolas and Blitzo aren't even an official couple. When did Blitzo suddenly become an imp version of Stolas? Why was he so quick to get horny and sleep with Chaz and he JUST MET HIM! This might as well be the same situation he had with Stolas, except he's Stolas and Chaz is Blitzo. Not to mention Blitzo ended up sneaking around and snooping through his stuff.

⦁ Why is Blitzo the one to get suspicious of Chaz anyway? He is mostly just there for comic relief and mostly seems more goofy and lovable compared to his behavior in the latest episode. It's kinda a good thing I guess, but I'm not gonna hope for the better of him. I wouldn't say he changed completely since there was a moment he lashed out at Moxxie for a split second. I don't even think he has any motive for trying to get him caught in a lie cuz he doesn't even know him, other than the fact that he wants to be the only one who ruptures Moxxie and Millie's relationship (I'm sorry... are we supposed to be rooting for him still?) If anything, I think it makes more sense if Millie was the one to figure out was Chaz was up to considering her history with him (if there was any. We don't know.... it was never shown!)

⦁ I can't believe Crimson easily let Millie walk away with Moxxie scott free without putting up a fight! Bro killed dozens of people!! He wasn't even afraid to kill his own wife. He even threatened to harm Moxxie and Millie! Why is he backing down so easily!?

Uh, yeah... this certainly wasn't the greatest episode. I think the only thing good about it was Moxxie's childhood. That was certainly interesting (and dark). Apart from that, I was expecting something outta nothing. We could've seen some potential from Millie, but we didn't. This show just can't exist without sex jokes. It's alright if they wanna be funny like that, but at this point, it's just uncomforting. Wondering how they're gonna screw up the next episode.

#critique #helluva boss critical #SpindleHorse critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #blog #my thoughts #it doesn't get better

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hiswordsarekisses · 1 month

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To truly love another person there is a forgetfulness of self.

To unselfishly love someone is to want what is best for them regardless of what that means for yourself.

This includes telling truths that may hurt the relationship.

When you call yourself lying to someone because you think you are protecting them - you are really actually only protecting YOURSELF!!! Because you just don’t want to have to see that you are responsible for making them uncomfortable or causing them pain - or may even make them cry. You are protecting YOU.

That’s loving you.

Not them.

If you consider all the way down to the root of an any situation or option you will find either self-love, or self-less love.

Self-love is not love because it puts self first. It is extremely selfish at the very root.

People say you can’t love others unless you love yourself, and that is a lie from hell to keep us from loving truly and genuinely.

Jesus knew that we already love ourselves - because when you love yourself you feed yourself, you bathe yourself, you buy things you need, etc., elsewhere in scripture it says

“for NO ONE has EVER hated his own body, but nourishes it… (etc) (and that’s just a fact - scripture does not lie - and the enemy has been feeding us that lie for as long as there have been humans.)

Consider this - maybe I hate myself so much I want to do not want to live anymore. This - at its very root - is selfish. Its true.

By removing yourself you think YOU will escape whatever it is that is making you feel that life is unbearable, but then you don’t think about the pain you will cause others that you leave behind. You transfer your discomfort for theirs. I know this scenario does not fit everyone but it’s basically the difference between loving ourselves or loving others.

See our problem is not that we do not love ourselves - it’s that we love ourselves too much. And we love ourselves most. And if we are truthful with ourselves before God we will see how this truly is.

THIS is why Jesus said to love others AS we love ourselves.

If you look out for others, making sure they have what they need, that they know what they need to know, etc., the same way you look out for your own well-being and safety, ~ everything changes.

Everything.

Some people have never even heard of such love, or seen it in action. Jesus has loved us this way and this is the love we are called to.

That’s why First Corinthians chapter 13 so confidently describes what love is… and there are no exceptions. This IS the definition of LOVE.

Real love is absolutely not about ourselves.

If we say “oh I just love the way they make me feel,” or “I love what they do for me,” or “I love the way they talk to me…”

These things are not bad, but it is NOT LOVE.

You’re really just getting a need met from this person that you are addicted to.

This is why there is so much divorce and “serial dating” - because when the new feeling wears off or they are no longer meeting that need YOU have - you move on to the next person. I did this most of my life until Jesus moved into my heart in such a big way that HE met that need. And He continues to meet that need - so I have never again searched for it in a human.

This “feeling” we get when that need is being met by a human is not love - “this is being addicted to a biochemical reaction that feels really good.” (Sebastian Enges)

Everyone is at a different stage of learning to love others. Sometimes, some things take a lifetime. But prayer is the best place to start. We should always pray for the love of God to be perfected in us, pray to love others as we love ourselves, and pray to have the natural inclination from the heart to put others interests above our own.

This is FRUIT that proves the Holy Spirit lives in us.

God alone provides to power to love in this way, it is miracle love. We can’t just fake it.

And ALSO - in this perfect love, we should naturally want to protect others from the horrors of life and/or death without God.

We cannot hold their hand and then, not wanting to hurt their feelings, walk them into the pit of hell and say we loved that person.

No, we tell the truth “even when our voice shakes” and no matter what that means for the future of our relationship with them, because temporarily losing them to possibly have them for eternity is worth all of it.

Sebastian Enges told this scenario in such a perfect way:

“Let’s say you have a relationship with somebody that you feel deeply in love with, you absolutely love them, and they have an opportunity to move across the world and do something, but that means they might no longer be in a relationship with you. And they are like your whole world right? They are deeply connected to you. If you love them more than YOUR NEED to “get” from them whatever it is they give to you by being in your life - as hard as it is, you are more likely to tell them to go. Without any games, without any emotional manipulation, you can factually look at the things on the table, and go “this is the right opportunity for you right now and I think you should take it.” Knowing full well it means that your relationship with them is going to change - in my opinion - that is love.”

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bucky-munson · 2 years

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What's Hidden in the Shadows | 3

Summary: Bullies are everywhere. They manifest as a group of jocks at school who think you're fat and want to make sure you know. Sometimes they even manifest as your own father. But can they manifest as the love of your life? No probably not.

Words: 1.4k

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Plus Sized!GN!Reader ; Surprise X Plus Sized!GN!Reader later on ;)

Warnings: Bullying, abuse, swearing and toxic mean ass Billy of course

a.n: Tension's building oh boy. Honestly I'm still torn on what to do with our lovely protagonist's love life.. But I hope you all like it!

Taglist: @harringtonfan4 @jubilee40

“What are you waiting for, dumbass? Get in before someone sees you!” Billy’s voice calls out and you almost believe you’re dreaming, asleep against the desk in math class still. Your feet respond before you do though and you step closer to the car, still walking a bit too slow for his liking. “I swear to god, if you don’t hurry your ass up, I’ll rethink this whole thing and leave you here!”

“What the hell do you want, Billy?” You whisper, but it comes out more like a shout as you stand next to his car. He just shakes his head, mumbling about how stupid this is and how he can’t believe himself, but he looks at you again and there’s almost a softness in his steel eyes.

“Get in, and put your head down so I can make it out of the parking lot!”

Against your better judgment you listen, the door creaking a bit as you open it and sit into the passenger seat, dropping your bag between your feet. A thick leather jacket smacks roughly against your lap as he tosses it at you.

“Cover your head and lean down, they’re looking for you, and they Can’t see you with me,” he huffs, head turning quickly to keep an eye out for any stray green uniforms or jackets he sees. There’s an urgency in his voice that you believe so you cover up with his jacket and lean down, his hand firmly on your back to hold you there as the roar of his car drives through the bustling parking lot. You hear a couple voices shout a soft “Hey Billy!” but he doesn’t respond verbally and continues to drive. Finally after what felt like an hour he removes his hand, pulling the jacket off of you and allowing you to sit up.

“There.. Jesus..” He sighs, gripping both hands on his steering wheel tightly, seemingly still having an internal battle about what he’s doing. The silence is deafening, but you keep your gaze straight, almost scared to look back over and ask what was going to happen now that he had you.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, alright? We need to talk and this is the only way I could get you alone without anyone finding out,” he grumbles, seemingly reading your thoughts. “Though, I can’t believe you would listen to that stupid ass note I left. Do you know how easy it could have been for them to get their hands on you? I thought you were smarter than that,” he continues, rambling a bit as he loosens his grip a bit, but you're still stunned into silence. "Well? Are you gonna say anything?" He huffs, glancing over at you before focusing back on the road.

"Why did you save me? I know you're pissed that I didn't get hurt this morning, but I mean I didn't know that Steve Harrington of all people would be the one to save m–"

"King Steve is the one who saved you? Isn't that rich.. Since when did he take interest in losers?"

"Since when did you?!" You reply, incredulously, finally realizing the situation you were in. "I'm literally in your car, saved by you from your lackies!"

"Shut up, I'm not interested in you, I just need to know something," He replies softly, skirting into a parking spot at the deserted lake and pushing the car into park. There was the silence again, Billy’s Adam's apple bobbing as he takes a moment to figure out what it is he really wants to ask. "Was it true?"

"What?"

"Was. It. True?"

The silence hangs over the both of you as you take in his words. So he did feel bad, that’s why he hadn’t been harassing you. But he hadn’t told any of the others which meant something.

“What? About my dad?” You start slowly, shaking your head as he looks over to where you’re sitting. “Yeah… It is.. I mean where do you think I got this shiner from? No one at school ever really hits me like this.”

His shoulders deflate as the realization truly hits him. It was his turn to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. The tension is palpable over the two of you as he takes a deep breath but pushes the shift forward, bringing life back to his car.

“Billy?” It comes out almost as a whisper as you watch his hand on the gear shift, his fingers rubbing against it a bit. You can tell there’s an inner battle happening, no confidence visible in any of his movements. “Billy, you can drop me off if you–”

“Shut up, dumbass, and buckle up. I’m taking you to the store, one outside of Hawkins,” he starts, tilting his head in your direction. It’s then you notice a slight glassy look in his eyes, but he turns away before you can say anything else. “You’ve gotta learn how to cover that shit up or the school’s gonna call… Trust me it’ll just get worse from there.”

Opening your mouth to refuse just earns you a stern look, the same one he gave in class earlier. The firmness in his blue eyes causing your throat to run dry.

“I’m not asking, y/n.”

“Can we at least listen to music then?” You offer after buckling the seat belt into place and giving him a weak smile. He can only roll his eyes, mumbling a soft ‘Un-fucking-believable” before turning the radio up, a loud rock beat playing.

“What the fuck is this?” Billy laughs, holding up an oddly shaped bottle of a rose tinted liquid. Snatching it away from him you can only sigh. If there was one thing more frustrating than trying to avoid the bullies at school, it had to be makeup shopping with Billy you figure. He was, obviously, of no help at all, only offering suggestions on which color matched then disappearing further into the aisles of the store. You quickly try to follow, holding all the “necessary", his words, items in your hands, but after glancing down three aisles you groan in defeat. A hand reaches out to grab your arm, forcing you into a corner and almost causing you to drop everything.

“Billy? What the –” He quickly shushes you, stepping unbearably close and leaning a bit over you. Pressed against his chest you can smell the faint cologne he was wearing, but before you can push him away you hear a few giggles coming closer to the both of you. There’s a quick noise of acknowledgement before you hear their feet skittering away. Billy lets out a quick sigh, shaking his head,

“That was.. Too close for comfort..” He laughs, finally backing away from you. There isn’t a moment to settle the pounding of your heart however as he’s gripping your wrist and dragging you towards the front of the store. “We gotta get out of here.”

The ride home was filled with guitars and drums pounding into your ears, the sound nothing compared to the volume of your own thoughts.

Billy Hargrove took YOU shopping.

Was being pressed up against his chest always that intoxicating? What would his lips fee-

“Did you hear me, airhead? I don’t know where to drop you off at..” The voice snaps you from your thoughts, a heat quickly rising to your cheeks.

“O..Oh.. Uhm.. Forest Hills, the trailer park?” You stumble over your words a bit but luckily he doesn’t take the time to notice.

“No shit? My dealer lives there, I knew you were worse off but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“Shut up, Hargrove,” you retort with a quick roll of the eyes. There was the Billy you expected to be around, your thoughts only a romantic figment of the true man. Rocks crunch under the tires of his car as he pulls into the park, stopping a bit away from your house. Before you can exit however, he grabs your wrist, just hard enough to stop you.

“Don’t expect this to be more than a one time thing, got it? I was doing you a favor, but at school? This shit better not get mentioned or I’ll make sure no one believes you,” he states coldly, raising an eyebrow as you give him a short nod. It’s then he lets you go, peeling out of the line of lots. You wait for his car to fade into the distance before heading towards your trailer, the sun melting into shades of purple as the night falls.

#billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #plus sized reader

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